


Westward

by WanderlustandFreedom



Series: Descendants Short Stories and One Shots [16]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Adventure, Escape, Exploration, F/M, Falling In Love, Forbidden Love, Love Confessions, Love at First Sight, Marriage, Minor Audrey/Ben (Disney: Descendants), Twoshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-07 10:21:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 44,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21456472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WanderlustandFreedom/pseuds/WanderlustandFreedom
Summary: In a world where the VK’s never came to Auradon, and Ben and Audrey thought they were fated. One late night while traveling through Charmington, Ben is kidnapped from his carriage by a band of isolated outcasts. Now, he finds himself falling harder every day for the dragoness no one else dares to touch, but doesn’t dare act on his feelings.He’s tied to Audrey. They have vows. And he won’t go back on his word.
Relationships: Ben/Mal (Disney: Descendants)
Series: Descendants Short Stories and One Shots [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1593727
Comments: 32
Kudos: 78





	1. Kidnapped

Movies » Descendants, 2015 » **Westward**  
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| Author: WanderlustandFreedom |  1\. Kidnapped 2\. Agreement 3\. Purpose 4\. Travel 5\. Rain 6\. Smack 7\. Drunk 8\. Home   
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| Rated: K - English - Adventure/Romance - Published: 12-09-19 - Updated: 12-09-19 | id:13449721  
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**This was inspired by Xez2003's The Black Arrow; A Tale of Two Kingdoms. I do not own Disney Descendants.**

* * *

Ben watched the carriage turn into the driveway, feeling expressionless. He watched the servants load his suitcases into the back and the horses fed and watered as they waited for him. This would be the carriage that would take him to the Cinderellasburg Castle, where he would be conversing with King Chad on the state of his kingdom.

Ben was twenty-seven and the High King of the country of Auradon. Underneath him were about a hundred other royals of various backgrounds who had either inherited their kingdoms or had them gifted to them in thanks for extraordinary acts of bravery. The country was beautiful – high purple mountains in Arendelle, deep blue seas in Oceania, thick forests in Sherwood and hundreds of magical places in between. Ruling at Ben's side was his queen, Audrey, whom he had known since he could walk. They'd been married seven years and had one child between them, a stubborn and often cross girl whom they had misnamed Belle Joy, after his mother.

"Is Audrey coming down?" Ben asked with a sigh, casting a glance to the side at a servant who was standing at attention nearby.

"No, your majesty," the servant declared. His hat slipped down on his forehead even more. "She's in the spa. Her back has been hurting her more. She says to come see her when you return."

Ben nodded. Audrey wouldn't want to see him when he returned, he knew. He hadn't seen her for three and a half weeks now. Little Belle sometimes came into his office to gift him flowers and demand candies, but she had a nanny and the nanny took care of her. He and Audrey didn't need to.

With a sigh, Ben stepped out from under the overpowering shadow of the castle and towards the carriage. No one was there to see him off despite the fact this was a two-week long meeting. Audrey was in her spa, Belle was probably taking a mid-afternoon nap, his mother had moved out with the death of his father and now resided in a small home where Ben took Belle to visit weekly, and there was no one there to say goodbye or tell him they'd miss him.

"Let's go," The king nodded to the driver of the carriage. A few shouts rang out – orders for servants and directions for others, and the carriage began to move as Ben was sitting down. He fell into his seat, hitting his elbow against the side of the door, and rubbed it slowly as the noise diminished and the castle disappeared.

Ben rested his head against the frame of the carriage and winced when they went over a rock and he knocked his skull into the wood. It was going to be one of those journeys. One where he went over all the decisions he'd made and reminisced over his life and wondered how things could be different.

Auradon was one of the center-most kingdoms. Charmington was closer to the sea and had a large dock, which was used to export goods to the outermost province of the Isle of the Lost. The two were separated by a very large and thick forest known as the Seeoderschwarz. About 250,000 square miles of nothing but forest and forest and the occasional stream or river and more forest. It was teeming with natural resources, he was told, and the majority of the land was owned by the Charmington Forest Service and the Charmington Logging industry, which made for pleasant interactions. Ben supposed that King Chad had been dealing with land disputes between the two for as long as he had been trying to get Weselton and Arendelle to get along.

Ben got a glimpse of the ocean before the road took them into the heart of the forest. For several dozen miles, the roads remained nice, but they soon began to rumble and clatter down a thin, unpaved, barely-cleared road. Ben watched mile markers give way to large boulders, fallen tree limbs, and wild plants. He ought to petition Chad to improve all the roads, but knew that his old friend was busy with other things.

The sun remained high in the sky for what seemed like several years before it suddenly jumped to the horizon and the trees began to cast thick shadows around them. Ben supposed he must have dozed off as the armed escorts and the driver lit up their lanterns. He pulled a thicker jacket out of his travel bag to wrap around himself as the cold spring air started to nip at his fingers and ears. Winter had just ended, but the nights were still frigid.

The sky grew so dark that the trees blended into the atmosphere. Ben couldn't see any stars past the lanterns and the roof of the carriage, but he supposed they were up there somewhere. He tried to curl up into his seat, but every bump knocked his back a little more out of joint and every shout from outside kept him feeling like he was supposed to be awake – supposed to be doing something important.

What was he supposed to be doing?

They continued on, switching drivers once at half-past midnight. No one checked in on him. That was fine – he'd been on long journeys before. Three minutes before three a.m, they rolled to a stop. Ben startled out of a daze. He'd been tracing the wood grains in the beams with his eyes, and now struggled to see in the dark as hushed whispers came from outside. He tried to listen but couldn't hear much. Slowly, he reached for the carriage door, expecting them to jump into motion at any second. His hand twisted the latch. The carriage made no motion. He opened the door and leaned out. "Why have we stopped?" He asked a soldier, who was staring ahead in shock and confusion. He didn't answer.

Ben followed his gaze. Everyone's eyes were focused ahead on a green orb swinging in the middle of the road. Like some sort of haunted ghost. Ben felt his eyes falling out of focus as he watched, but he was used enough to it that he was able to rip his eyes away to step down, out of the carriage, and onto the ground. "Who goes there?" He asked loudly, without hostility. "Are you in need of help?"

The light came closer. It's presence was overpowering. The urge to look and to fall into a deep, deep sleep was almost irresistible. Ben put a hand up to block the light and spotted someone behind it, swinging it in a dizzying pattern. They had a cloak on – or possibly a cape – and wore slim, tight fitting boots. Either it was a girl, or a man with very slim, feminine ankles.

Then, a voice, as overpowering and alluring as the light, which penetrated every particle of him, straight to the bone. "Why have you brought soldiers in our midst?"

A girl, he thought vaguely. Definitely a girl, but a powerful one. He could _feel_ her authority.

"They are here to protect me," Ben explained calmly. "We're not here to hurt you."

It occurred to him too late that perhaps he shouldn't have insinuated he was anyone important. In the dark, his identity was mostly concealed. With great trepidation, he swallowed and asked: "Will you allow us to pass?"

The light stopped swaying and its wielder held it closer to the side of the carriage. Ben swallowed as he recognized the Auradon crest on the side of the craft. "You are from the high kingdom?" She asked slowly, cautiously.

Ben swallowed. "Yes," He affirmed.

He could barely see the woman behind the light, and it became much harder as all of the lanterns in the company – all the ones that had been held by the driver and the guards – turned green. "Take them," The woman ordered, and then her light disappeared. The driver and the escorts came back to life, gasping for breath, and several loud battle cries echoed from the forest. Sturdy arrows the length of his arm with ropes attached to them flew through the air, going through the roof of the carriage and splintering the wheels. The horses reared up almost as one as figures with black, green, and purple torches rushed through the trees.

"We're under attack!" One of the horsemen yelled. "Barbarians! Yield!"

"Don't hurt them!" Ben struggled to be heard over the whinnying of the horses. He reached out and caught the reins of one and pulled them back down to ground level as he tried to calm the frightened creature. "I think they're only frightened of the weapons! If we throw them down-"

"You'll have us all be murdered?" The man bellowed, wrenching his reigns away from Ben and shoving him back. "Get down and take cover! We already have a soft man on the throne – we don't need one on the battlefield as well!"

Ben fell to the ground, and the soft dirt gave way under his frame. The officer had, it seemed, not recognized him in the dark with his coat covering his jacket. "Wait!" He yelled as the men spurred their horses to action and they began to hurry away. The carriage, with one broken rim and at least five broken spokes, more than tripled its previous pace as it took off into the night. The horsemen followed it. Ben spotted a horse's hoof coming down on him from above and rolled to keep his skull intact. He crouched, face down, into the dirt as horse hooves plundered the ground around him. A scary vision of a hoof severing the connection from his head to his neck made every hair stand on end as he gasped, shaking.

It was all over in a matter of seconds. Chances were, if Ben had stayed inside the carriage, he'd be safely away with them. As it was, he was afraid to even move as shouts echoed through the forest and then fell to whispers around the road. What were the chances they wouldn't spot him; that he'd be left to wait for his caravan to realize he'd been left and return to retrieve him?

Hands seized his shoulders and yanked him up, keeping his knees pressed into the mud. He gasped at the same bright green light was shoved into his eyes, blinding him from the people holding him captive. "Who is he?" The woman holding the light asked.

"Can't tell," A smooth, male's voice replied. "He's unarmed."

"I don't mean any harm," Ben gasped, closing his eyes as the bright light made his brain feel like it was pulsating inside his skull. "We were just passing through the area."

"Heading to where?" The female demanded.

"Cinderellasburg," Ben provided.

"Where?" The woman asked.

Ben paused and opened an eye to see if he could see her. "It's… King Chad's kingdom?" He asked. "I'm supposed to meet with him tomorrow afternoon."

"He's important," The woman decided. A little fear had crept into her tone. "He was traveling with a guard to meet someone."

"Who are you?" Another man – one with a little bark who was tightly gripping his left arm – demanded.

"I-" Ben faltered. "I'm… just a representative from the High Kingdom."

"He's lying," The first man accused. "He paused!"

There was a long silence. Ben tried to slow his breathing as he waited for his own verdict.

"We'll take him to E. She'll make a decision," The woman declared.

Ben's eyes flew open. "Wait!" He gasped. "I'm being expected! And the carriage will come back for me. Let them come back and I'll convince them to let you walk free!"

The first man laughed. "We can't trust him, can we?" He asked.

"No," The woman agreed. "Tie him up, and we'll take him back to camp."

A blindfold was whipped across his eyes and his head was wrenched back. Ben tried to call out, but before the blindfold had even been fastened, a gag was tied across his mouth and a thin rope was strung around his wrists several hundred times, so they were biting into his wrists. He was forced to his feet and the three began to lead him away, though he could hear first the footsteps and then the heavy breathing of many others around him.

"Who is he?" He heard someone whisper.

"Someone important," The woman whispered back. "We're taking him to Evie."

Evie. He was going to be judged by a girl named Evie. A leader? What sort of leader might a band of… outlaws? Misfits? Castaways? He wasn't sure what to call them. But what sort of leader could they possibly have?

Ben tripped over tree roots as he tried to keep pace with the two men leading him. Behind him, he heard shouts and distant 'Find him!'s. The carriage had returned too late.

They marched for about an hour, and then the leader called a pause. "We're going too slow," She decided. "Take the blindfold off of him, and cover your faces. We'll move faster if he can walk straight."

The blindfold was removed off of her command, but everyone was already covered. They removed the gag off with the blindfold, and Ben took a deep breath of the fresh air. Ben's head swiveled to examine his surroundings. They were in the middle of the forest, hidden in the thick underbrush, and there were about twenty people in number. Two held onto his arms, and others surrounded them, armed with knives in case he tried to run. The person on his left, who had spoken with the bark, had bright blue eyes, and light hair and skin. The person on his right, with the smooth voice, had more ethnic skin that reminded him of Aziz, from Agrabah, and long brown hair poking out from under a cap. Black, beetle-like eyes caught the light of the stars as they examined his face, which was still covered with mud and dirt.

Up ahead, he caught a rush of long, thick hair as the woman who he assumed had been the one to previously hold the light turned away from him. He could see, in the light of the stars, that her hair had an odd quality to it. Something that looked very, very different from the others. "Let's go," She commanded, and the group continued on.

The uneven forest floor was more compatible with his feet now that he could see where the roots, rocks, and uneven spots were. The fresh night air brought a soft of calmness to his bones despite the tense situation. And holy heavens – he had never even known this many stars existed. He had to rip his eyes away from the vast, glittering expanse above in order to keep from tripping. There was no moon to outshine the pinpricks of light as he stared, dumbfounded, at the constellations and beautiful clouds of heavenly fog.

Hours later, as the sun began to light the sky, Ben heard yelling, and then saw smoke rising into the sky. They walked into a camp, and his mouth dropped at what he saw. Hundreds of people – not one older than he was – were living in the center of the forest. He could see hammocks strung up and small lean-to's and two or three half-made teepees. They weren't of the greatest construction, but had clearly been here for several weeks, if not months.

Ben was led to the largest teepee by his two captors. The other group broke away as they took him inside, forced him to his knees in the center, by the supporting pole, and tied his hands and ankles together around it. "Try and get some sleep!" The smooth-talking one snapped. "E will be in soon to question you." Ben didn't fail to notice how they'd positioned his back facing the entrance, so that he'd never be able to see who came in.

"Could I have some water, please?" Ben requested. His throat had started to become a little dry as they had walked, though the night air hadn't made it too bad. Now that he was sitting though, he was feeling a little light-headed.

The two snorted. "Ask E," The man with the bark in his tone replied. He spoke a bit childishly, as if he hadn't quite wrapped his head around what they were doing yet. "She's the compassionate one of the three." There was the sound of someone hitting someone else, and Ben realized that the reason they were trying to be secretive about the camp is, because, if he was someone important, he would know who to prosecute. He decided it would be wise to pretend he'd never heard the name 'Evie'.

The teepee flap closed, which was unfortunate because it blocked out most of the sounds from camp outside. He shifted against the frost on the ground, leaned his head back, and closed his eyes to fall into a restless sleep.


	2. Agreement

**This was inspired by Xez2003's The Black Arrow; A Tale of Two Kingdoms. I do not own Disney Descendants.**

He woke because he realized someone was watching him. Slowly, he levels his head and tries to wipe his chin on his shoulder in case there's any drool on the corners of his mouth. Then, he glances cautiously at the peripherals of his vision and spots the same dark haired, black-eyed man who escorted him here. His face is still covered, but in the light coming from the top, he can tell that the man has tan, olive skin. He's pretty sure that he isn't the only person in the room, though.

"He's awake," A woman says behind him – someone new with a bit of an edge in her tone. The way she says her 'E's is hard.

Ben swallows. "Sorry," He apologizes, shifting his weight a little to try and work some of the stiffness out of his limbs. "Uh, are you E?"

"No, I am," A third woman different from the first two he's interacted with speaks up. Her voice is clear, refined, like she's been raised royalty. "And you are?"

"I'm, uh," Ben stuttered, unsure if he should tell them his name. "I'm a traveler. I was headed to Cinderellasburg."

He could hear footsteps approaching him from behind. The way they step – they're wearing high heels. He'd been with Audrey enough to hear the difference. They crouched down and he could see someone wearing deep blue examining him out of the corner of his eye. "And what is your name?" She asked.

"What's yours?" Ben countered back. In response, he heard someone close to the door draw a blade. "Ben. My name is Ben."

E hummed. "I'm Evie."

He heard a scoff from the front of the teepee. "Why'd you give him your real name? He'll rat you out now." It was the first woman; the one with the light.

"I don't think so," Evie replied. "And besides, he could have just said that he was captured by a woman named E."

"I'm the one who captured him, Evie. They'll come for me first," The light woman declared.

Ben swallowed. "Listen, I'm not going to send anyone after you. Honest. But, I am a bit curious, why are you hiding out in the forest and attacking travelers?"

"We don't attack travelers," Evie declared. "We only got a little concerned when we heard that there were soldiers marching through. You must be someone important for you to be so well protected."

Ben chuckled nervously. "Not especially - I'm only a representative."

"You're lying," Evie declared. "Be careful. M has been lusting after some blood." By the doorway, the woman who had first stopped his party stepped forward. He listened to her criss the teepee, and then felt the cold steel of a blade press against his cheek. M. She was called M. And the last woman, the one with the hard E's, he didn't have a name for. This must be the three.

Ben let out a slow breath. "I, uh, what keeps me alive the longest, then?"

"The truth," Evie replied simply. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"I'm Ben," Ben confirmed with another deep breath. "I'm traveling to Cinderellasburg for a meeting. I'm from the high palace."

He felt Evie pause behind him, and then a manicured hand landed on his shoulder. He could see many large and beautiful rings, and dark blue nail polish. "The high palace?" Evie asked. Her mouth was closer to his ear now. "What is your title?"

Ben twisted his hands to keep them from shaking. "I, uh," he swallowed and decided to bite the bullet. "The, uh, King. I'm King Benjamin."

Evie's hand jumped off of him and he felt M withdraw the knife. "Oh my," Evie gasped in horror. "Oh, we're doomed. We're so doomed."

"I'm sorry!" M gasped. "I had no idea who he was!"

"Wait, wait!" Ben laughed uneasily. "I'm not going to, like, send the army after you. I'm just… who are you and why are you hiding in the forest? I want to help you – not hurt you."

There was silence in the room. Ben heard the shifting of weight and felt more than a few confused glances. Then, he heard footsteps and a breathtaking woman stepped into his field of vision with a frown plastered across her face. She was tall with extra height from her high heels, adorned with shiny and sparkly accessories, but still looked absolutely deadly. Her long, blue hair spilled over her shoulders like some sort of tinted waterfall and her eyes were browner than any expensive chocolate or polished wood he'd ever seen. He felt his breath catch in his throat but quickly got himself back together as he continued examining her.

Her clothes had many different pieces of fabric stitched together and pieced into a array of blue, black, and grey. It was striking, but Ben immediately came up with a theory – they didn't have access to much in terms of quantity, so they used the best parts of everything.

Evie sat down on the ground and examined him. "We're refugees," She explained patiently. "We're fleeing oppression."

"Oppression from who?" Ben demanded. "Tell me the name and I'll do everything I can to fix it." He'd never been able to do more than placate people and fill out paperwork – if he could use his title to do _something_ good, then-"

"Oppression from you," Evie explained patiently.

Ben's mouth fell open. He stared at her, trying to figure out what on earth she was saying. From him?

Across the area, the person currently acting as a guard dropped his face covering. He had a long, angular face. Ben skimmed him a little more in his shock and caught something odd – he had a design painted on the scarf he'd used to cover his face. It looked like a genie with words across it. He couldn't read it from that far away, however.

Evie brushed her leg off. She was wearing leggings, so it wasn't at all indecent, but the motion still brought Ben's gaze back to her. She'd brushed off a similar patch with the outline of a woman wearing a crown with her head covered. Across the woman's arms were the words "Long Live Evil."

"Villains," Ben whispered, and everyone in the room tensed. He could feel M getting her knife ready from beside him. "You… support the villains? Is that what this is? You don't seem like you're like them – if I suppressed you for that-"

"We're not villains," The woman with the hard E's sighed. She, too, stepped into view. She was an ethnic woman with dark skin and beautiful plaited braids on top of her head that led down into elegant curls. A sword was strung at her hip. Ben wondered how these people could look so well-put-together in the forest. Her outfit had shells and what looked like seaweed décor sewn into it. Ben searched her for a similar 'Long Live Evil' patch, but couldn't find anything. She did, however, have a little teal blue octopus on her leg.

"If you aren't villains, then who are you?" Ben furrowed his brow.

"We, uh, carry on the heritage," The man on the edge of the teepee spoke up. He held up the little badge which, it could now be confirmed, was a genie.

A genie, a queen, and an octopus. Ben swallowed. "So, uh, Evie? Is that for the, uh, Evil Queen?"

Evie pinched her lips together and nodded with a frown. Ben nodded to the dark-skinned man. "And, uh Jafar. And Ursula?" He swallowed. And then the woman behind him – M – she would have to be…

Well, he had a lot of villains memorized, and a couple of them started with the letter M. Macbeth, Medusa, Madame Mim… she could be the daughter of Marina, Ursula's sister. However, it was the bright green fire from last night – the fire that was still dancing in front of his eyes and making the world seem a little hazy – that gave away her identity.

"And Maleficent?" He asked.

Evie's eyebrow spiked upwards in an attractive arch. If he could have someone build a bridge with the same perfect arch as that brow, it'd become a country landmark. She glanced behind him with a tiny smile pulling at her lips. "You brought back a smart one," She hummed. Ben blushed a little at her pride.

M snorted, and Ben's hair rose up on end. She sounded like she was exhaling fire and he could swear he could smell smoke. These weren't ordinary people – he was dealing with, he assumed, a skilled chemist with a royal exterior, a mage of waters, a dragon-shapeshiftee, and possibly someone with genie powers despite the fact the olive-skinned man seemed to rely much more on his muscles than on magic.

"Let's talk about this," Ben exhaled, shifting his weight a little. "Also, is there any chance I could stretch my legs out? You can keep me tied up, but can I at least stand up so I can get rid of these cramps?"

Evie spiked the other eyebrow, considered, and then nodded behind the pole to M. Ben felt someone take hold of his wrist. Her hand was soft and smooth and made his breath catch. He was surrounded by beautiful people. M sliced through all of the cords binding his feet and Ben carefully moved his legs out from under him and stretched out his limbs. His legs were stiff and tingly as he tensed and relaxed the muscles with a grimace. "Thank you," He exhaled, tilting his head back in the direction of M. He couldn't see her and guessed she didn't want to be seen just yet. That was fine – he wasn't sure he could stand having four flawless people examining him while he was covered in dirt and dried mud.

"So, you're the children of the villains," Ben exhaled, closing his eyes as he tried to wrap his head around that idea. "So… you come from the Isle of the Lost? How did you escape?"

Evie tilted her head and squinted with a tiny smile. "We have our methods," She said simply. "Your barrier is still intact. And we left all our parents to rot."

Ben felt a frown growing on his face as he turned his eyes downcast. "You've been through a lot, haven't you?" He sighed.

The olive-skinned man furrowed his brow. "Since when do heroes care about villains?" He asked.

"Since when am I a hero?" Ben muttered miserably. "I've been king since I was sixteen and I've never actually been able to do anything for anyone."

Evie turned to examine Ursula's daughter with a little amusement in her eyes. The daughter of the sea witch looked a little guarded, but it was clear his words had enchanted her. "You could have done something for us," She suggested. "That island is a prison, thanks to your father. No one _deserves that."_

"Yet you left your parents there," Ben mumbled. Ursula's daughter blinked in surprise and fell silent. Ben continued shaking his head. Every one of her words felt like M had decided to slit his skin with her knife. Ben closed his eyes in pain. "I wish I'd thought of it," he mourned. "I was so concerned with Auradon. Spoiled, selfish, needy Auradon. I should have… I should have thought of you guys." He scuffed the base of his boot in the ground with closed eyes. "I'm a pretty lousy excuse for a king. Is it… is it too late to help you now?"

"We don't need your help," M scoffed behind him. Her voice was like grinding nails.

"Wait," Evie held up a hand. "We… want to have our own place. Here." She gestured to their surroundings, and Ben realized she was referring to the forest area. "You're the King – couldn't you make it so we can live without anyone… hunting us?"

Ursula's daughter and Jafar's son leaned forward in interest. Ben blinked. Could he do that?

He was King; couldn't he do anything?

But this was Chad's kingdom; his inheritance.

"I have a proposal," He declared, straightening up. "I can't – or won't – give you this land because it already belongs to Chad's Kingdom. I don't want to rip away his inheritance. But, further west and past his kingdom and Arendelle, there are some inhabited lands that belong to me. It's part of what I inherited when I took over the kingdom. You can't stay here in Chad's kingdom, but if you move out there then I'll give you your own lands."

"We've already come this far," Ursula's daughter protested. "Our people are tired. We can't walk past another two kingdoms." She looked at Evie. "Can we?"

Evie's eyes were bright. "Why not?" She asked. "We wouldn't have to hide, and if the king sanctions it, it's ours. People might be angry when they find out, but we can defend ourselves well enough. We can elect leaders and have beautiful buildings and pretty things and… a place. A place for us."

"I'll help protect you too," Ben offered, sitting up a little straighter. Gosh, it felt great to have a purpose. "Auradon City has its own army, and I can command other armies if needed. If anyone attacks you, they'll be attacking the high palace. Treason."

Ursula's daughter looked a bit suspicious. "We're not gonna hold you to your word on that," She scoffed. "It's not like the palace has done much for us so far."

She was right, but Ben was determined to prove her wrong. "I'll prove myself," He declared. "I'll help take you guys there personally, and I'll help wherever you need help."

Jafar's son began to laugh hard. "You?" He snorted. "You're not coming untied."

Oh, right, there was still that.

Evie frowned, suddenly looking doubtful. "How do we know you're not just telling us all of these things to get us to let you go? That you won't betray us as soon as we let you help us?"

Ben's shoulders slumped. "I guess… you'll have to leave me tied up then," he decided. "Until I can think of a good way to prove myself."

Ursula's daughter spiked an eyebrow. "He's willing to stay tied up?" She asked.

Evie squinted at him like she was trying to see through him. "Let him go, M," She declared.

"What?" M squawked behind him. "No – we can't trust him!"

"No, we can," Evie nodded. "And anyway, I bet Jay could outrun him."

"I don't know the way back," Ben offered. "And, uh, M, you have magic, yeah? If you know a spell, I'd be willing to submit to that."

Ursula's daughter let a little smile spread across her mouth. "Huh," She hummed. "Humble."

His words had apparently placated M. He felt her cool, smooth hands take his again, part his wrists, and slit all the bindings. Ben pulled his wrists in front of him and rubbed them. They were rubbed raw and had dozens of purple lines across them. He exhaled, leaned back against the pole, and let his eyes flick between the three people who had shown themselves. "Do you, uh, still not want me to know what you look like? It's okay if you're not comfortable."

"Huh, he's also a gentleman," Ursula's daughter hummed. "How refreshing."

"He's certainly not lacking…" Evie hummed, letting her eyes trace over Ben's frame. His mouth went a little dry.

A scoff came from behind Ben. "Don't fall too hard, ladies. You might forget which way is up."

"Better to forget up than down," Ben reasoned. "You can keep stepping forward so long as you don't accidentally step back."

Ursula's daughter gave him a little sort of half smile and then held her hand out. Ben took it, and she helped him to his feet. "Uma," she introduced herself. "Jay is the djinni to your left, and Mal is the sneaky little witch behind you."

"Hey!" Mal snapped. "I didn't give you permission to give him my name?"

"It ain't your full name!" Uma snapped back. "What, you gonna let him call you 'M' for eternities?"

"Yes!" Mal insisted.

"Mal," Ben repeated, pausing their argument. "Short for Maleficent?"

He could suddenly _feel _Mal fuming behind him as Jay chuckled. Evie rolled her eyes. "Okay guys, let's stop this." She looked up at Ben. "Do you know how far the lands are? Or even what direction?"

"I know they're past Chad's kingdom," Ben rubbed his hands together. "However, I must admit that I am very turned around after marching around in the dark. But if you have a map or something, I could plot out the place for you?"

"We don't," Uma shook her head. "We've been here for about a month, trying to keep everyone together and avoid Auradon."

"I've got to hand it to you – I don't think anyone suspected a thing," Ben shrugged. "I didn't even know that the barrier had been, uh, opened?" He folded his arms. "Well, if you know where Chad's Kingdom is, and the road is relatively straight through the forest, then just draw a direct line from the trail to the castle and walk straight past it and keep going. To the West."

"We know that there's a castle," Evie informed him, "But we've been moving away from it. We could send someone out to find it, but we didn't want to interact with them."

"So, you don't have a map, and you don't know where things are around here?" Ben sighed, shoulders slumping. "I don't expect you to trust me with knowledge of where we are exactly, but I have one last proposal. If you have a compass, or even a needle, some paper and water, and a magnet, then I can find the direction for you that way."

"A needle, paper and water, and a magnet," Mal repeated behind him in a drawl. The urge to turn around and see her was almost overwhelming. "What, are we gonna make a fridge magnet?"

"Get Carlos," Evie requested, nodding to Jay. "He can help us out."

"We'll bring the stuff," Jay nodded as he leaped to his feet and rushed to the door. Ben felt a rush of warmer air and heard a jumble of voices before the flap closed again and all was quiet.

"What are we gonna do with him once we know the direction?" Uma asked, examining Ben's face. "I mean, he's gotta go back to his kingdom, right?"

"I can probably stay away for a little while?" Ben offered with a shrug. After all, it wasn't likely that Audrey would notice he was gone for many weeks. Paperwork would just have to wait.

Actually, the idea of leaving all that behind sounded rather nice.

Evie furrowed her brow at him. "Well… I don't know. We're already committing national treason by kidnapping him. I say… he takes us there, and then we make sure he gets back to his palace safely. Is that okay with you, Ben?"

"You won't need me," Ben assured her. "I'll teach your Carlos how to build the compass. He can guide you."

"It'd probably be best for you to tell us when to stop," Mal drawled. "To make sure we're off of everyone's property."

"Ah," Ben nodded. "Okay, yeah, I'll take you all there." He folded his arms awkwardly and then held his hand out to Evie to shake. She did so with a smile and a nod. Uma, too, stepped forward to receive a handshake before Ben exhaled. He had a feeling Mal wouldn't let him anywhere near him. "Thank you all for your hospitality," He bid them.

Uma snorted. "We captured the King of Auradon from his carriage, hiked him through the woods blindfolded, and tied him to a pole."

"And then trusted me enough to let me help out a little," Ben replied.

The teepee flap opened and Ben had to resist turning around as Jay reappeared with another boy in tow. He had on a thick red, black, and white jacket, long white and black hair, and shorts. Ben supposed that this was Carlos.

Carlos opened his hands and procured everything Ben had asked for – down to a sealed bottle of water. Ben smiled and reached out for the needle and the magnet. He rubbed the needle against the magnet – one end with one side and the other with the flip side – as everyone watched and then poked it through a mostly clean sliver of paper. He opened the water bottle and discovered it was filled to the brim – which was good for his purposes. Ben dropped the needle in, and the paper kept it afloat. Everyone watched the needle spin around to point towards where Uma was standing. Ben smiled. "That's north," He declared, pointing towards it. "The pointy end points north. No matter where you go, it will always point north. You may have to remagnetize the needle or switch the paper, but this is north. Here, walk around. Spin in a circle. It's always going to be north."

He handed the bottle to Carlos, who took a step forward and then a step back before he turned in a little circle and let out a little laugh. Evie, Uma, and Jay all leaned in. Evie looked entranced, Uma impressed, and Jay confused. Ben wondered how Mal had reacted to his meager survival skill. This was, technically, an elementary project, but it was helpful.

"How does it work?" Evie asked, astonished. "How does it know?"

"Well, the world is a big magnet," Ben explained. "So, like this tiny magnet will stick to a fridge, the needle is attracted to the ground. It lines up."

"Woah," Evie mumbled and looked up at him through her long, blue lashes as if he was the most extraordinary person on this side of the planet.

"I don't get it," Jay declared. "Don't magnets also push away?"

"Yes, there's a north and a south end," Ben affirmed. "That's why I had to rub the needle in a specific way. One side pushes away from the north and the other pushes towards it. That's what makes it straight. They're attracted to each other." He clapped his hands together. "So, knowing that that is north, the opposite - that way – is south. And if we go in a little circle with our "Never Enter Santa's Workshop" acronym, then that's east and the way we need to go is-" He paused, coughed a little, and gestured to the door flap. "Through Mal."

"Never enter Santa's workshop?" Mal asked in a drawl. Amusement overshadowed her tone. "What kind of goody-two-shoes are you?"

Ben shrugged as a deep blush crept into his neck and ears. "Well, you can also say 'Never eat soggy waffles' or 'Never eat Sour Worms', or 'Naughty Elephants squirt water.'"

"Ugh," Jay blanched. "I _hate _soggy waffles. Definitely a perk of leaving the Isle. Sour worms though… it depends on where they come from."

Ben paused and then turned to stare at Jay. "Are you talking about… gummy worms or real worms?"

"Gummy worms?" Jay repeated, confused. Ben felt his stomach turn.

"I have one!" Uma declared. "North, East, South, West. Never entertain sexy women."

Jay burst into laugher and Ben felt his blush grow a little deeper as he nodded. "I suppose I'm making a grievous mistake then," He mumbled. At his words, everyone began to laugh. Even Mal let out a guffaw behind him, which made Ben a little prouder than he should have been.

Jay, Evie, and Carlos began to talk excitedly, coming up with different variations to his acronym and switching the paper out so they could continue to watch the magnetic needle spin. Uma watched them with an air of satisfied indifference. Ben rubbed his still-sore wrists and watched them exchange excitement as they took turns picking up the water bottle and spinning in tiny, careful circles to see it point north.

Something blindingly purple appeared in the corner of Ben's vision before a woman with long, lush violet hair appeared and stepped towards them. Ben's mouth fell open with a pop and he let out a little gasping sound like he was about to start choking on something. Evie, Jay, Carlos, and Uma all turned to see what the matter was as Mal leaned over to take the water bottle for herself.

She was beautiful. More than beautiful. She was so lovely he wanted to get back on his knees in her presence. Grey eyes with little sunspots and black lashes. Her skin was paper-white with little hints of color blooming on top of her cheekbones and across her nose. She was short, delicate, but strong. Ben stared in amazement at the pink color of her mouth and the perfect pout her lips took up before Jay snorted and shook his head. He tore his eyes away, red clouding into his face. "Sorry," He apologized. "I just… realized I really am the ugliest person here."

There was more laughter at his self-depreciation, but he could feel everyone's eyes – Mal's eyes, especially – on him. "You don't look half-bad," Evie replied. "A bit dirty, but there's nothing some water can't fix."

Mal hummed as she turned slowly, examining the needle, and then pulled the tiny craft out so she could take a swig. Ben watched a little trickle run down her chin before she wiped it away and then extended it to him as, he assumed, a peace offering. "Here," She directed. "You asked for water earlier."

He took it, careful to avoid her hands, knowing he'd drop the container now that he knew what ethereal creature that soft skin belonged to. He avoided her gaze as he raised the container to his lips and sipped slowly. He couldn't risk embarrassing himself in front of everyone – in front of her – with any horrible manners.

It occurred to him that he, a married man with a daughter and wife at home, had agreed to basically abandon his country and march across two kingdoms to help three extremely beautiful women resettle their people outside of Auradon. He'd thought Evie and Uma were beautiful(Evie especially, well-kept and gentle as she appeared), but that was before he'd seen Mal. Not that there was anything particularly empowering about Mal – Evie was the one with the bling, the perfectly-kept hair, everything. Ben had a feeling that the two other boys would consider Evie and Uma far more beautiful above Dangerous Mal, but something about her had him feeling for balance and brushing his dirty shirt off.

Mal squinted suspiciously at him as he handed Carlos his water bottle back and he tried to keep a clear head as tiny lines appeared around her eyes. They left little lines around her lashes because her face had a thin, even layer of dust across it that rubbed off when she furrowed her gaze. Her hair was mostly brushed but had little knots here and there from the time she'd spent stopping his carriage and hiking around in the woods last night. Which reminded him…

"Uh, I – ahem – Mal?" He coughed and then cleared his throat. "I said I would submit to a spell if you had one. Something to ensure to you I won't run, or that I'm not lying? I still hold by that."

Mal's gaze immediately flicked over to Evie and Uma. "I think it could be needed," She drawled. "But my comrades seem to have decided you are the most trustworthy person on the planet despite the fact they've known you less than an hour."

"He has that honest look in his eyes," Evie hummed, though she was avoiding Ben's gaze entirely.

"That's how people are cheated, Evie," Mal reprimanded. "That's how my mother made it onto the Isle of the Lost – because she thought she could trust Stefan And they knew each other a lot longer than thirty minutes."

Ben frowned. "Pardon?" He asked. "What are you talking about?"

Mal glared at him, and he held up his hands even as his knees shook. Evie sighed. "Go on, then, Mal. Nothing that will hurt him." She kept her gaze far from Ben as she said this. Uma and Carlos, too, were examining other areas of the tent. Carlos had recreated the magnetic compass in the shallowed canteen and was watching the magnet stay aligned to the north and south.

Ben immediately hit his knees in front of Mal, which wasn't exactly hard as her presence was still intoxicating, and bowed his head as some sort of odd gesture that he really was willing to go through with this.

A green light filled the tent. A few slim fingers appeared in his field of vision, dragged his head up until he had met her eyes, and then she held a flat hand up as if she were about to give him a high-five. It was an oath, he realized. She was demanding an oath.

He held his right hand – the hand of authority – up and took a little breath to prepare himself. "Do you, King Benjamin-"

"Florian," Ben interrupted. His face erupted into red as he admitted this, but he had a feeling she'd need his full name for the spell. "My full name is Benjamin Florian. You can add on the King of Auradon if you want."

Uma laughed. "Florian?" She gasped. "I thought you people were supposed to be good to your children. Were your parents high?"

Ben ducked his shoulders a little and heard Mal snort. "Still not as bad as mine," She declared shortly and then cleared her throat. "Do you, King Benjamin Florian of Auradon, swear that everything you have told us thus far is true and right to the best of your knowledge?"

"I do," Ben affirmed, daring to meet her eyes. Where they had been grey, they were now bright green. He couldn't find any little golden flakes in that swirling forest of magic.

"And will you accompany us westward without attempting to sabotage, mislead, or harm us?" Mal demanded.

"Or even think unkindly to you," Ben added. At this, Mal's face twisted in confusion and she appeared to lose her train of thought.

"And, uh," She stammered, blinking a little. "Will you ensure our safety in our solitude to the best of your abilities when this matter is over, regardless of the terms on which we part?"

"I will," Ben nodded. And then, before the spell could be broken, he began to speak again. "And will you, daughter of Maleficent, promise to me that I can trust you to neither attack nor harass my other people so long as I protect you from them?"

Mal looked shocked at the audacity of his request. She glanced away from him, towards Evie and Uma, and then her face stiffened. "We will neither attack nor harass them, but if they come through your defenses to war, we will rise to defend ourselves."

Ben nodded – this was acceptable to him. "And, will you, when the time comes, allow me to depart when the time comes for me to leave? In other words, can you ensure that I will not forever be your prisoner?"

"I swear it," Mal replied nonchalantly, though a heavy weight fell on the room. A promise made by someone of fae blood was binding. Mal would keep that promise on the price of her own life.

The magic faded and Ben let his hand drop before he got back to his feet, brushing his knees off. Mal, Jay, and Carlos were looking at him curiously, though Evie and Uma had appeared to accept his nature. Mal crossed her arms. "What gave you the thought to demand things of me?" She demanded. Her grey eyes still held hints of green as she glared.

"When did I demand anything?" Ben asked. "I asked if you would promise me. You could have very well have said no, though that would have hurt me greatly."

Mal squinted at him like he was a puzzle and she couldn't tell what he was supposed to be, much less which pieces to begin pushing together. Ben supposed she'd never met a person with good intentions in her life before he.

He closed his eyes and wrenched his gaze away from hers. It wouldn't do to stare so much after the embarrassing reaction he'd had upon seeing her for the first time. He had no idea if Mal was married, promised, tied to another or even committed to a past love, but he couldn't risk leading her on. "Now, I must admit that I am exhausted," He announced, leaning against the pole. "I assume that you have word to spread and plans to make – would you like me to be there? Or is there a chance I could rest for an hour or so more?"

"We won't be leaving anything soon," Uma declared, straightening up. "We're a little low on resources. Give me two more days and I can have enough to take everyone past the first kingdom."

"If I take a group out now, we might be able to catch something in time for your teams to prepare it for the journey," Mal offered.

"I'll tell things to everyone and Carlos can help me arrange people into groups again like we did when we were crossing the water," Evie nodded amicably. "We'll move faster that way."

"Where can I help?" Ben asked, pulling off his coat and rolling up the sleeves of his blue button-up shirt. "I admit I don't have much experience, but I can help with heavy lifting or cooking or organizing-"

"You can cook?" Uma interrupted, staring at him skeptically. "You look like you wouldn't know a ladle from a spoon."

Ben frowned at her. "I actually quite enjoy it," He whispered. "It's a skill I always have possessed."

Uma snorted. "Did you quote my mom on purpose, or did it slip you that that was one of her lines?"

Ben blinked. "I'd forgotten," He mumbled and shoved his hands into his pockets. "But please, don't make me sit around and play prisoner. I want to help. Give me a job, work, a purpose. _Please."_

Evie and Uma exchanged looks and Uma nodded. "Okay," she agreed. "When the time comes, we'll have you help load and carry things. And I will take you up on that cooking thing you mentioned. But not now, Beasty Boy. You were up all night, remember?"

"Uma's right," Evie agreed. "Besides, word hasn't gotten out about you yet. It'll be easier to convince the others if they don't have you in _that_ shirt behind me."

Ben frowned and picked at his shirt. "What's wrong with this shirt?" He asked.

"The Auradon crest, idiot," Jay rolled his eyes. "The overbearing symbol of our plight. Left to rot for thirty years by the government who works so hard to give their citizens peace and happiness."

"I'll find you something, or I'll make you something myself," Evie declared, sizing him up and letting her eyes hover on his for the first time since he'd glimpsed Mal and lost all semblance of his senses. Even now, his vision was fuzzy, his ears were ringing, and the tips of his fingers were numb in shock. "For now, let's get you something to sleep on, so you can rest before we need your help."

Ben nodded. "I, uh, am good to sleep here," He gestured on the ground. The teepee had no floor covering, so the base was just bits of grass and some dirt patches, but Ben was so tired he didn't find it all that unappealing.

"No," Evie narrowed her eyes. "We've already treated you unkindly as it is. We will find you a proper place to sleep and something proper to wear."

"I've got things in our supplies," Uma declared. "I'll get Gil and we'll bring them over. There might be a spare shirt and some pants he can wear too."

"Let me handle that," Evie shook her head. "You can bring in things for a bed, but leave his clothes to me. I've never made an outfit for an actual royal before."

"Other than yourself?" Ben asked, rubbing his eyes momentarily before yawning.

Evie tilted her head. "The Evil Queen has no royal status in Auradon," She reminded him. "She lost it when she was banished."

Ben shrugged. "The crown doesn't make you a queen," He told her. "I mean, your mother did bad things. She used her power to hurt. She wasn't a true queen. But you're not like her. You get to chose who you're going to be. Uma's mother imprisoned and tricked dozens, your mother attempted murder, Mal's mother is the mistress of all evil, and I've got the poster parents for goodness. But true queens and kings reach inside themselves, use what they've been given, and stick through with good causes until the end. And, if I have my say, I'll crown you myself when this is all over, Evie. None of you are evil. I can look into your eyes and just… know." He let his gaze flicker from Uma, who looked skeptical, to Evie, who looked touched, and to Mal, who looked even more confused.

"Are you always this perky?" Uma drawled, squinting at him as if he was suddenly hard to see.

Ben deflated a little. He'd have to learn to cut back on his speeches a little. "A little bit over the top?" He asked.

"A little more than a little bit," Mal snorted, still looking baffled. "I think you need more sleep than we were originally estimating."

"Well, so much for my first impression," Ben sighed, scuffing his toes into the dirt a little and sighing. He put his hands into his pockets and then glanced around at them all. "I do believe that, though."

No one said anything. They shifted their weight a little, squinted at him, and then slowly let their gazes flick to the ground. Finally, Uma took control of the situation. "We'll be back," She decided, stepping towards the flap. "You hang tight – it should be ten minutes and then we'll be back."

"I'm gonna get a crew together," Mal announced, following her to the door flap without another glance at him. Uma propped the flap open and gestured to it, waiting for Mal to go through.

"Loser, passage for one. Right this way, please." She drawled, raising an eyebrow at Mal.

Mal crossed her arms. "Are you gonna go, then?"

"Guys," Evie rolled her eyes. "You need to stop."

Mal and Uma both sent shifty glances towards Evie, and then Mal ducked out with Uma following her. Jay moved to the exit, and Carlos packed up the magnet and the needle with the utmost concern. The last person in the teepee was Evie, who examined him carefully. She didn't say anything, only examined his features and squinted as if she was trying to see underneath his skin.

"Looking for something?" Ben raised an eyebrow.

"Is everyone in Auradon as resistant to beauty as you are?" She asked. "I took your breath away, Uma fascinated you, and with Mal, you reacted hard enough for the boys to notice, but then it was as if you hardly noticed how we looked." She looked almost offended. "Boys from the Isle still take more than a few seconds to begin breathing again around me."

Ben blushed. "I see that you're beautiful, but – uh – beauty isn't everything."

"Are you attracted to danger?" Evie asked, and Ben's cheeks burned even brighter. "You seemed awfully taken with Mal for those first few seconds."

"I wasn't expecting the purple hair," Ben lied. Truth was, his heart was still pumping fast and he felt a bit woozy. "I, uh, am not a masochist."

Evie frowned deeper. Was she offended at his reaction to the three of them? He tilted his head to the side. "You're used to everyone thinking you're prettier than Mal?"

"She's dangerous," Evie replied simply. "Uma's taken and Mal is dangerous. And… I like to think I'm the fairest of them all." She folded her hands together and looked over his shoulder like she was some sort of unseeing statue.

"But you're also smart," Ben proposed. "And resourceful. Again, we had no idea you were even here. That's impressive."

"Yes," Evie nodded. "It's… odd, being away from my mother. For the first time, it's like I'm more than just a pretty face. Knowing I don't have to play dumb to get a guy… that I'm smart."

"I can't imagine living like that," Ben sympathized. "It sounds… horrible. I'm so sorry. I wish I'd thought of you guys years ago."

Evie hummed. "Yeah, my mom's not a barrel of laughs. Just ask Snow White. But, uh, it's over now. We're in Auradon now. This… this is the land of opportunity. We can be whatever we want here."

"Yes, you can be," Ben agreed. "And I'm going to do everything I can to help you guys."

Evie's stare hardened into something indecipherable and unreadable. Ben took his hands out of his pockets and folded his hands together as her eyes bored into his soul. Finally, having not found whatever it was that she was looking for, she spun around and headed to the door. "Uma and Gil will be here soon," She announced. "I'll see you later, Ben."

The flap closed and Ben was left alone. In under an hour, his life had been completely spun on its head. And boy was he exhausted. He sat down and leaned against the center pole. Against his will, his eyes drifted closed. 'Only for a few seconds' he promised himself. 'then I'll wake up when Uma and Gil get here.'


	3. Purpose

**This was inspired by Xez2003's The Black Arrow; A Tale of Two Kingdoms. I do not own Disney Descendants.**

When he woke up, he was buried underneath a very large, heavy blanket that was pressing him into a thick comforter. The feeling would have been relaxing if it hadn't been so unbearably hot. Slowly, Ben crawled out from underneath the weighted item and discovered that his shoulders, knees, wrists, and ankles were _sore_. He winced as he rubbed them and then squinted at the daylight visible at the top of the teepee. It looked like mid-afternoon outside and was high-noon in Agrabah inside the teepee.

Ben picked at his clothes. He looked like he'd walked through a waterfall. He was completely drenched in his own sweat and completely parched. He ran his hands through his hair and then found, like Evie had promised, a new outfit laid on a tarp at the center pole of the teepee, where he had originally fallen asleep. A long-sleeved maroon shirt that looked like something that would keep him warm on a jog in November, some tan pants with very deep pockets, and a pair of shoes that were brown with black designs on the sides. He wondered if Evie had made them.

He wasn't too excited to see the winterish clothes but grateful that Evie had come through nonetheless. He wondered what his wardrobe would be the next few months and found he wasn't exactly sorry to say goodbye to suits and polished shoes for a little bit.

He rolled the sleeves up on the shirt to his elbows before he wandered closer to the flap of the teepee. He could hear people bustling around outside. He wondered if it was 'safe' to go out now. He wasn't exactly wearing Auradon colors anymore. What if Evie, Mal, or Uma got mad at him?

He pushed the flap open and stepped out. And the sight outside shocked and scared and thrilled and amazed him all at once. There were so many _people_.

People were rushing across the camp, which was actually much larger than Ben had first realized. People were standing and chatting, passing water bottles back and forth with bright smiles. People were tending small shops and exchanging wares. Hurt people sat in chairs and talked with each other. Young children raced on little horse and dragon toys, and there were even young adults his age who were walking arm in arm, shoving each other, everything. There were carts and small wagons lining the outside of the main road, which stretched for at least two miles in either way. There were other teepees and small structures, but it appeared everyone was living out of wagons and off the land. How extraordinary.

"Ben!" Someone called, and Ben's head snapped up in the direction of Jay, who was sitting on the back of a cart with Mal and Carlos. Mal was kicking her legs back and forth nonchalantly, and the sight of her made him pause before he glanced to make sure he wouldn't run into anyone and then crossed the road to join them.

"Sleep well?" Jay asked with a laugh as Ben neared them. "You look like you came back from the dead."

"Close enough," Ben shrugged, shielding a yawn. "How long was I out?"

"Four years," Mal drawled. "We made it all the way to the new land without you."

Ben snorted at the same time as Carlos. He took that as a good sign – he was catching on to her humor rather well. Mal looked down at him, carefully taking in the red shirt and his mussed hair, and then glanced away.

"It's only just starting to become evening," Jay assured him. "But we've got things on their way. Some people are already packing up. I think Evie is gonna have your teepee dismantled with the rest and put your stuff in with Carlos and I's wagon. That okay?"

"Only if it's okay with you," Ben assured Jay. "I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Nah, it's cool, man," Carlos nodded. "We've never met a king before. We'll have to assimilate you into Isle culture."

"Assila-wha?" Jay crinkled his brow. "You and Evie both talk mouthfuls."

"It means to integrate. To mix," Ben supplied.

Jay rolled his eyes. "Well, look at this, guys," he elbowed Carlos with a roll of his eyes. "He's pretty, he gives inspirational speeches, and he has a brain."

"Two of those are true," Ben conceded. "However, I'm not sure my looks prevailed after having my face in the mud and then passing out for, well, all day." He tried not to look at Mal or Jay too hard or to sound like he was accusing them.

"Beauty is pain," Mal drawled, pulling her leg up onto her knee and continuing to kick the other one out. "And it could be worse. You could have been woken up right before midnight, hiked through the forest with a defense squadron thinking that the high kingdom had sent someone to order you to move or be moved, accidentally kidnapped the King of Auradon and then stayed up till now without a nap so you could go hunting to feed two-hundred kids and young adults." Mal let out a long, loud, piercing yawn. "I have been up for seventeen hours on two hours of rest."

"My cot is still set up if you want it?" Ben offered, cringing a little as he imagined how damp it might be from him basically drowning in his own sweat. Luckily, Mal didn't seem interested. "And wow, you lead defense squads, cast magic spells, and feed the masses. Anything else?"

"Spray paint," Jay mumbled under his breath. Mal kicked him.

"Excuse you," She spat. "Spray paint is a noble art form. I'd like to see you create anything remotely intelligible."

Jay furrowed his brow. "Intelli-wha?" He asked.

"Don't hate on the spray paint," Carlo nodded. "Her crap is pretty darn near perfect."

Mal let out a snort. "Ha! That's me, I am perfect. She multi-tasks; she dabbles."

"You're the best," Carlos shrugged. Mal nodded in agreement.

"Are you guys… a couple?" Ben asked slowly, glancing between Mal and Carlos. Carlos burst into laughter while Mal gave him an unimpressed look.

"No," She shook her head. "No. So don't get all worried, Prince Charming."

Ben's face turned red as he held up his hands. "I wasn't implying anything," He insisted. "I just wasn't expecting such high praise among friends from the Isle of the Lost."

"We're more like family," Jay explained. His face had taken on some dark tones and he was examining Ben in that same way Evie had been.

"Nah," Mal shook her head and kicked him again. "The King's right. We're like a gigantic lust-fest. You, me, Evie, and Carlos. We're all in a gigantic, messy relationship together."

"Oh, does that mean I get to hold your hand and bring you flowers?" Jay puckered his lips out as he teased her. Immediately, a cloud of rage darkened Mal's face.

"No, that's what Evie's for," She shoved Jay off the cart this time. "But you can walk down the street and make sure Shrimpy isn't messing anything up."

"You're too much work, Mal," Jay sighed. "I'm breaking up with you. You can keep Evie and Carlos."

"Who's Shrimpy?" Ben asked, crossing his arms and choosing not to comment as Carlos began to laugh even harder.

"Uma," Jay rolled his eyes. "She and Mal are having this power struggle that Evie usually balances out."

"It's not a power struggle," Mal hissed. "I'm more powerful than her. Especially here. Her little seashell trick only works near the ocean. I can turn into a dragon wherever. What we have is her thinking she can control me, and Evie trying to convince me to let her."

"So Evie's in charge?" Ben asked, glancing between Carlos and Jay in amusement.

"Evie's our people leader," Jay explained. "She's the, uh, Carlos, what's the word?"

"Executive person," Carlos supplied. "She works better at getting the people to rally behind her, though Mal and Evie both _think_ they're effective leaders." He elbowed Mal, who simmered. "Uma is better at dividing resources and keeping track of things, so she's our Resource Advocate. Mal, you probably noticed, is a fighter. She's the one who keeps us safe and handles the weapons, the squads, anything involving hunting or fighting, etc…"

"Military," Ben supplied. "Cool. It looks like you have things going."

A whiff of something nice caught his nose and he turned to look down the road. In the distance, a thin smoke was rising. "Is that where Uma is now?"

"Yeah," Carlos nodded. "Mal and whoever else was hunting today brought back a few deer. Uma, Harry, Gil, and the pirates used to work her mom's food shop on the Isle, so they and whoever else can cook are handling it."

"I hope she falls in," Mal muttered under her breath. "I wonder what fried octopus tastes like."

"Have you ever tried being nice to her?" Ben suggested, raising his eyes at Mal.

"Have you ever tried kissing up to a live wire?" Mal shot back, turning her fiery gaze on him.

"No, why did you do that?" Ben replied. Carlos snorted and shoved Mal's arm. Mal scoffed and kicked her leg out at Ben. Ben caught her boot and held it up higher. Mal yelped a little as she scooted forward and scowled at Ben as Carlos and Jay both laughed at her. Ben took a moment to examine her foot in his hands. It was small – he could wrap his entire hand around her sole – and he probably had mugs at the palace with a wider diameter than her ankles. Tiny little Cinderella feet, this girl had. But she made up for her size with what looked like acres of toned muscle. He could see strength in every single tendon going up her leg. It helped that she was wearing tight pants with a few threadbare places behind her knees, across her calves, and even stretching up inside her thighs.

He dropped her foot as he felt his face growing a bit warm. Mal scowled a little as she moved back to her original position but didn't seem to have noticed him examining her. Either that, or she seemed to not care. Jay and Carlos, on the other hand, exchanged a cautious look.

Jay leaned forward and clapped Ben's shoulder. "Come on," He invited. "I'll show you Uma's area. You'll probably be helping us pack things up there tomorrow."

Ben nodded and let his eyes rest first on Carlos and then on Mal. He put a hand behind his back and bowed to them both, to which Carlos snorted at again. Then, without another glance back, he followed Jay away.

As soon as they were in the midst of the crowd and out of sight of the cart, Jay swung an arm around Ben's neck. "Okay, listen up," He whispered in a hushed, warning tone. "I want you to picture Mal for a second. Don't ask questions; just do it."

Ben blinked. It wasn't hard to conjure up the image of the purple-haired fairy – especially so soon after glancing at those long, long legs she had. "Okay?" He questioned, furrowing his brow.

"She's pretty, isn't she?" Jay pressed his lips together. "I'm sure you noticed how her mouth is all one color and how her eyes have those little flecks that catch the sun, right?"

Ben's mouth went dry. "Jay, if she's yours, then-"

"She's not," Jay hissed, cutting him off. "She's no one's. That's why I'm telling you this – don't go after her. She's pretty to look at, but don't touch her. She's _dangerous_."

Dangerous. He said it the way you would talk about a person's identity. They're _Christian_. They're _Bisexual_. They're president of the women's court or they're the national tourney champion. Not a description; a title. "That's what Evie told me about her," Ben nodded. "But, uh, Jay, I wasn't-"

"Evie's right," Jay interrupted. "Because that purple-haired pixie has more fight in her pinky finger than the rest of us do in our bodies. Even Uma. And she doesn't exactly consider love a priority."

"Jay," Ben interjected with a blush coloring his cheeks. "I'm, uh, taken back home. I'm not going to make a move on Mal."

Jay blinked in surprise. "You're taken?" He asked. "As in, you've got someone waiting for you? Why did you agree to stay, then?"

"I, uh-" Ben stammered and then swallowed. "It's complicated. But she'll understand."

"Sheesh," Jay snorted. "Must be one heck of a patient lady. Alright, then."

They stepped under a little string of blue lights and Ben saw people hard at work cutting up the carcasses of several deer. Dozens of small, hot fires were being tended to by a variety of people in teal blue. Most of them seemed to be pirates. Ben watched a pirate with a teal sash tied around his hat take a large, clean knife from a collection.

"Be warned: Uma might put you to work," Jay called in his ear to be heard over the noise.

Ben looked around at the hustle and bustle. His stomach growled a little at the good smell in the air. "I'd be happy to help,"

"Wonderful," A voice came from his immediate right. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Uma put a hand on his bicep and turned him around. "You ever done any of this before?" She gestured over her shoulder to the deer, which had been strung up with rope so they could effectively get the meat off, and pulled a long, sharp, clean knife out of the pile.

Ben glanced over his shoulder and discovered that Jay had vanished. That didn't surprise him. "I have done high school dissections and I'm a quick learner," Ben shrugged. To be honest, he'd much rather be tending the fire than dismembering meat, but if that's what Uma needed then he would do it.

"Lovely," Uma clapped him on the arm and handed him the knife. "Gil has been at this for four hours since Mal's crew started bringing in the first few. They brought in extra so we could smoke some and that way we don't have to stop as we travel. I'm going to have him show you how to do it so you can take his place and then when all is said and done, you'll either be on the smoke racks or cooking things with Harry." She pointed at a tall, bulky, blonde-haired man who was mostly apart from everyone else. Ben nodded and, taking the knife firmly in his hand, headed towards the lone outsider.

"Hey, I'm Ben," He called when he got near enough. "Uma sent me to help you out. She said she wants you to teach me how to do this and then take a break."

Gil wiped off his forehead as he stood up and looked at Ben. His face lit up with a bright, childish smile. "Hey man! I know you! You're the character who passed out in the teepee today when we were bringing you your cot!"

Ben turned a little red. "Yeah, sorry about that," He apologized. "I meant to be awake to help you guys but I, uh, had lost a lot of sleep."

"Hey, no problem," Gil reassured him. "And uh, you're King Ben, right? I know you, man!"

"Really?" Ben raised an eyebrow and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "No one has recognized me yet."

"Well, my dad talks about your dad a lot," Gil said nonchalantly. "My dad… well, I'll give you a hint. He's quick, slick, and his neck is incredibly think."

G. Gil. Gaston. Ben inclined his head. "Do you… have a problem with me?" He asked cautiously. "I mean, I don't have a problem with you, but…"

"Nah," Gil shook his head. "I never really cared. But hey, when you get back to the castle, tell your mom that Gaston says hi, and tell your dad that – well, actually, don't mention that." He snorted and then gestured to the deer he was working on. "I already got the insides out and took care of the fur. We have someone from Evie's crew working on the hides because they're tough and we can make things with them. Mal has this nifty spell she made up that makes it so we don't have to wait for the meat to get older so it's softer. Usually, you have to wait until after this thing that Evie and Carlos know the word for goes away. It think it starts with an r…"

"Rigor Mortis," Ben supplied.

"Yeah, that's the word!" Gil nodded in approval. "We basically do it piece by piece. I already did the shoulders and that's the easy part, but I'll help you go through the rest. We have people over there with smaller knives who are getting things ready to be smoked or dried or cooked. The important thing over here is to not let it touch the ground and to not shred the meat to bad – oh, have you washed your hands?"

"I haven't," Ben shook his head. "But I will right now." Gil nodded and turned back to the beast. Ben turned away and spotted a line of people rinsing their hands off under a stream of water. He followed them, scrubbed his hands off(they even had soap… in the forest?) and then returned as Gil was handing off a few large pieces of meat to a young girl who'd come to get them.

Gil carefully explained how to trim the fat so that Uma could have the others turn it into soap or use it for whatever else she could find. Then, he guided Ben through the butchering process. Ben never, in a hundred years, had imagined he would be doing this, but decided it was best to consider his life choices when he wasn't holding a very large and heavy knife.

Gil stopped helping him after a while and went to go clean his knife off and get his water bottle, but then he returned and started talking to Ben as Ben worked, occasionally giving advice but mostly telling jokes about Auradon, the villains, and everything else he could think of. It was refreshing – Ben couldn't remember the last time he'd actually laughed with a friend.

"Hey, Ben," Gil started, taking a swig of his water bottle. "Do you know the name of the prize my dad won?"

Ben paused to briefly examine Gil, who was trying his best to not smile as he kept his eyes off his new comrade. "No," He responded slowly. "Does it have anything to do with hunting?"

Gil shrugged. "Depends on your point of view?" He shrugged. "I don't think so."

Ben shook his head. "I give up," He declared. "What was the name of the prize your dad won?"

"The No-Belle prize," Gil responded, snorting a little as he spoke.

Ben burst into laughter – the embarrassing kind where you snort and chortle more than you actually laugh. He turned away from Gil as Gil began to laugh even harder at his embarrassment, and then leaned his head against the tree they'd been working beside. "Oh my gosh," He gasped. "Oh my gosh."

Gil smiled brightly and took another drink before he pointed to the sky. "The sun is going down," He pointed out. "We better finish up soon. Do you have a place to stay? It'd be nice to have a bunkmate. Harry usually hangs with Uma."

"I've been put with Jay and Carlos," Ben explained. "But maybe I'll switch around. I like you a lot."

"Me too," Gil nodded. He got to his feet. "Let me finish up these last little bits. If you take what you've cut up over to Harry and everyone, they can show you how we get things done."

Ben nodded. He would have shaken hands with Gil, but his hands were kinda gory. So instead he laughed and thanked Gil and then took the collection of his work over to the opposite side of the road, where he put it down on a rack, like how he'd seen another young boy do it.

"Well, well, well," Someone drawled over his shoulder. "Wha' a lovely surprise."

Ben turned and found a man's face hovering close to his. He leaned back a little, eyes wide, and the man let out a tiny, barking laugh. "How's it feel being a king now?" He asked, leaning in even more with a crazed glint in his eyes. Then, maniacal laughter spilled from his lips as he retreated, curling his fingers and removing his pirate's hat. His red and white clothes were in tatters and clutched in his left hand was a glinting, slightly dinged pirate's hook.

"Give it a rest, Harry," Uma rolled her eyes, putting a hand on Ben's shoulder as she navigated around him. "He's still new."

"Aye, we nicked him," Harry agreed, a mischievous glint in his eye. "How long d'ya think he'll last?"

Uma laughed. "Evie told us not to scare him off. Honored guest."

At this, Harry's face twisted into something similar to rage, though a strong sense of humor remained trapped underneath his skin. "You said I could hook him!" He declared, brandishing the hook at Ben.

"I _said_ if he didn't do his work," Uma corrected, rolling her eyes. "And you don't need to get all jealous. If anything, he's gonna end up Evie's second." The daughter of the sea witch gave him a cursory glance. "Though he probably wouldn't mind if Mal decided she wanted a partner."

Ben's cheeks burned red. "I'm not here for any relationships," He corrected Uma quickly. "I'll be working with them, and you, but I'm, uh, already spoken for back home."

Uma raised an eyebrow and turned to Harry. "Don't listen to him," She advised. "You should have seen him turn into a fish when he first saw Mal. Even if he is spoken for, it won't last long with her around."

"I'm married," Ben interrupted. He felt around his neck and pulled up a ring on a chain strung about his head. "I don't wear the ring while I travel in case of ambushes but I'm married."

Uma gave the ring a cursory look. She hummed. "Pity for her," She shrugged and then turned around. "Alright, Harry, how much more?"

Ben let the comment slide. True, Mal was lovely, and yes, Evie seemed to be rather offended that he didn't find her equally so, but he was tied to Audrey by law. There would be no ruination of that fact while he remained here.

Uma and Harry wandered away without giving him any more commands, and Ben shifted uncomfortably before glancing down the assembly line. It amazed him how many people there were. Children and teenagers were everywhere, tending to all sorts of different tasks. He noticed that there were fewer of them further down the path, where large drying racks were set up beside fires and a couple of smaller children occasionally turned the meat so it would dry evenly. He headed down that way.

Ben supposed, gauging from the shortage of helpers and the type thereof that this was a task reserved for the small children, but seeing as he'd been given no other orders, he guessed that this would be a good place for him to pitch in until Uma came up with another job.

A bright-eyed little girl with colorful streaks in her brown hair was chatting happily with anyone who dared come too close to her lively spirit. Ben examined her from a distance – the colorful, jeweled headset around her head, the large glasses, and frilly dress. It struck him how alike she and Evie were. He'd assumed all of the people on the Isle simply went around ruining each other's lives over and over again and again, yet it seemed he couldn't have been farther from wrong. These people were creative, dedicated, and happy. Sure, they could all probably kill him and they had all had their fair share of hardships, but they were _good_. A deep love was taking root in his chest for every single one.

"Can you acquaint me with the process?" He asked cheerfully, stepping up next to the small girl. She looked up at him with a bright, fearless smile. "Of course!" She exclaimed. "We're just rotating everything around every half hour to make sure it dries evenly. And there's a system! Those ones over there will need to be done in five minutes, and then those and those-" She pointed to each of the fires in turn and it occurred to Ben that there were six fires. Clever.

"So, what's your name?" He asked, reaching up and helping her begin unpinning strips of meat. They had a nifty contraption that looked like a giant shelf, but with thin boards that held clothespins to dangle the meat in the smoke and above the flames. There were four to each fire set at equal distances with about two or three hovering around the one he had joined.

"I'm Dizzy," the girl introduced. Ben cast his mind back to his list of villains that he'd memorized at fourteen for his ninth-year history project – she could be the daughter of Doctor Doom or Doctor Doofenshmirtz, but his best guess was Lady Tremaine's granddaughter.

"Drizella's daughter?" He asked to confirm.

Dizzy nodded a little, keeping her mouth closed in an easygoing line. "Yeah," She agreed softly. "What about you? Were you sent to the Isle afterward? You don't seem like someone who was there for very long."

"Neither do you," Ben pointed out, casting his mind back to Mal, Evie, and Uma. "And no, I'm someone Mal picked up on the road yesterday and I've decided to hang out."

Dizzy looked over at him with wide eyes. "Oh!" She gasped and almost dropped the piece of meat she was turning. "You're the king? You're the person who's going to be helping us?"

Ben could blush and stutter out something. Or he could tease her for not knowing him. Neither seemed like the best reaction. So, instead, he stopped and wiped his hands on his pants for a second before he bowed, picking up Dizzy's hand and kissing her knuckles for a few seconds. He could feel eyes boring into his back – maybe Uma, maybe Harry, maybe any number of Islanders. Or maybe Mal. He imagined her green gaze watching him and a smile crooked his mouth as he stood back up. "I'm Ben," he introduced, leaving out the title. It was better without the title. He was more like them without making himself out to be something he had never really been able to play the part of. "Please to meet you, Lady Dizzy,"

"Well, aren't you a charmer?" A sultry voice came from behind him. He glanced over as he straightened up and saw Evie, still in her clothes from earlier, looking a little offended as she watched him release Dizzy's hand. "Where was that chivalry earlier when I was with you?"

Ben's danger sense, however weak it was, started tingling. "I don't usually do that," he admitted with a light blush. "I just thought that… the situation called for it." He wanted to impress the younger girl. He wanted to make her feel special.

"Ah," Evie's lips curled. "I see. You shake hands with me, kiss Dizzy's hand, and get on your knees for Mal."

"I did not-" Ben began before he recalled what she was referring to. He exhaled. "Evie, is it so much of a problem to you if I want to make Dizzy feel special? Could you perhaps be grateful for the way I did act rather than terrorize me for not immediately being smitten?"

Evie flinched and frowned and Dizzy set a hand on his arm. "It's okay, Ben," she consoled him. "Evie and I are like sisters. And she's been through lots. You can take the Isle out of the girl, but you can't take the girl out of the Isle!"

That doesn't stop Evie from turning and striding away.

"I hurt her, didn't I?" Ben whispered as he watched Evie disappear.

"It'll be okay," Dizzy shakes her head. "She's just been clued in to how she's still bending to her mom a little. We all forget; it's hard when we haven't been gone so long yet." She glanced through a rack at Ben. "Her mom used to beat her for every man who didn't stare when she walked past. So she's always tried really hard with people who don't react as quickly. And it doesn't help that you're a King with a big castle." Dizzy paused as she flipped around another strip of venison. "How many rooms in your castle?"

"I, uh…" Ben stuttered, completely thrown off by what Dizzy had revealed to him about Evie. He couldn't imagine being beat because other people didn't look at you as you walked past. "Uh… too many. Too many to count."

Dizzy nodded like this made sense. "Do you think there'd be enough for every one of us to come to live there?" She asked. "I know Evie said that we're going to go build our own place, but I was just wondering."

"I don't think so," Ben replied honestly, looking around at everyone surrounding them. "I wish, though. I'd take you all with me in a heartbeat." Then, he smiled at Dizzy. "Especially you."

"I've _always_ wanted to go to Auradon," Dizzy sighed dramatically. "Do you really have carpets you can walk onto? Have you been to a swimming pool before? What does ice cream taste like?"

Ben stopped and stared at her. There was this horrible building in his chest that felt like he was being filled with hot tar. "Carpets?" He asks weakly. They have carpets everywhere. They have carpet decorations hanging on some of the walls. Little Belle has bright pink carpets that make his head hurt every time he walks in. Audrey has her own thick, plush carpet rug that he's not supposed to touch. And swimming pools… he's taken Belle to the pool more times than he's taken her anywhere else. She doesn't like swimming but he makes sure she goes and that she knows how to swim, no matter how much of a fit she throws. "I, uh, yeah," He agreed softly. "I'll have some carpets sent to you guys when you get things set up. Big ones with fun colors that feel soft. And, uh, yeah, I love swimming. Ice cream… well, there are different flavors, but it's cold and sweet, and if you eat it too fast, then it gives you a headache."

"Really?" Dizzy gasped, eyes growing large and bright in excitement. "I've never had ice cream and most of the carpets are ruined. Cruella De Vil has lots, though, but we're not allowed to touch. Mal once threw a party at Carlos's house and so I got to see them then. And I don't know anyone except for Uma and her pirates who can swim."

"You live on an island," Ben blinked. "You can't swim?"

"There's a barrier," Dizzy shook her head. "Even Evie and Mal can't swim."

The back of Ben's neck grew hot, as if someone was glaring at him from behind. He stored that bit of knowledge about Mal away and then exhaled. "If you can't swim… how did you make it here?" He asked.

"Carlos built boats," Dizzy shrugged. "After he broke the barrier and Mal kept it open for everyone to get out, they put everyone on boats. And Mal cast an invisibility spell so we could cross without Auradon finding out. That's also why Uma was allowed to come."

There was so much information in that sentence that Ben had to stop and stare. Carlos built boats. Carlos broke the barrier. And Mal held it open. Holy crap.

"That's cool," he managed to choke out after a little bit. "And good that you were able to come over. I… wish I'd been able to bring you over myself. I guess I was too busy being king… gosh, that sounds lame." He exhaled and shook his head. "So, what about you? What was your life like?"

"I worked in Grandma's hair shop," Dizzy answered. "I had a few customers… a witch here and there. I mostly did lots of scrubbing and scouring and sweeping. Lots and lots of sweeping."

"Sounds like the old Cinderella treatment," Ben mumbled.

Dizzy's eyes flicked back up through the rack, and then she glanced past Ben as a group of kids ran by screaming. "Yeah," She mumbled. "She went from Wicked Stepmother to Wicked Grandmother."

Ben gestured out to the kids with a thumb. "You want to join them?" He whispered.

Dizzy shook her head. "Not really," She declined. "I know I should, but I'm used to the work. It still feels weird to play."

A little boy that only came up to Ben's knee dashed up and tapped his hand on Ben's thigh. "Diseased," He announced. "You're diseased."

Diseased. Ben glanced up as the group of kids all howled and shrieked at him. He reached over and tapped Dizzy. "Now you're diseased too," He laughed.

"Me? I can't be diseased!" Dizzy stared at him. "Who will tend the fires?"

A man in white and red steps up out of the shadows that Ben hadn't even realized were falling over the camp. It's Carlos, who has apparently made his way down to Uma's side of the camp. "Go on, Diz," he encouraged her. "You need a break. I'll cover you."

Dizzy hesitated, and Ben took her shoulders and shoved her away. "Go on," He told her. "Go play. You're only a kid once."

The little boy jumped up for Ben's hand. "You too!" He declared, yanking on Ben's fingers.

"I dunno," Ben shook his head. "I've got to help Carlos with the – Woah!" He tripped forward, glimpsing only Jay's long, brown hair as he caught his balance, and then the other diseased kids flooded around him to pull him in as Mal's two associates began finishing the fire he and Dizzy had been on. Dizzy shrieked as she was pulled into the vortex of screaming kids.

Ben laughed as he was pushed to the ground and then started grabbing random children, gathering them into his arms, and tickling their sides mercilessly. He laughed, then let out a little roar that made all the kids scream and giggle. Little ones climbed up onto his back and older children hung off his neck as they tried to team wrestle him to the ground. Some danced out of his reach and pointed their fingers with little shrieks. "Beast!" They cried. "Beast! Beast!"

It appeared word of who he was had gotten around. Ben didn't mind all that much as he picked up one of the smallest children and tossed them, squalling above his head, into the air. More kids gathered around. "Me! Me! Me!" They begged. Others held fast to his back. "Piggy-back ride!" They shrieked.

Instead, Ben reached out to one of the older kids. "Tag!" He yelled. "You're diseased!" Immediately, everyone jumped away, screaming, and took off running as the child tried frantically to tag everyone who dashed past. Ben jumped out of the way and about ten small children and older toddlers ran after him, letting out little yells as they dashed away from the tagger.

The sun went down. Ben did his best to guide the cluster of children away from the fires, but they all slowly dropped out one by one as the sun dipped out of sight and the night grew cool. Some mothers and caregivers called the children for dinner while others went of their own accord. Eventually, Ben was left to pick up three tiny kids who hadn't yet recovered from Isle emaciation and head up to the camp with Dizzy looping her arm through his and resting her head on his biceps. He balanced one kid on each shoulder as they yawned and stuck thumbs into their mouths, and then one six-year-old boy climbed onto his back and burrowed his nose into Ben's shirt as they walked up. The racks were still up, but adults were now switching the meat from side to side as the children all ate and went to sleep. Ben found several clean blankets stacked beside a wooden cart and spread them out, laying each of the three kids comfortably before covering them from the night chill. Dizzy he let use his arm a little longer as she tried to find Evie and then finally set her inside what she said was her cart so she could curl up with a soft sigh on her own blankets.

Ben leaned against a tree and watched as Uma directed for bones to be chopped up for broth to be made with and a large collection of young adults started packing away the jerky venison for the trip. His arms felt a bit sore from playing with all the kids, but he supposed he'd better get used to it. A few days more, and they'd be packing up this small camp and heading west.

He wondered if Audrey had been informed he'd vanished yet.

Someone slinked up through the shadows to him and held out a white plate to him. He took it, curious, and then saw green eyes light up through the dark. His hands went a bit clammy and a deep fire lit in his stomach as he stared at her. Mal.

"Good job tonight," She commended. "That looked absolutely exhausting."

Ben laughed a little, nervously. "What's this?" He asked.

"Dinner," Mal declared, stepping forward and leaning against the tree as well. She was facing the other direction and not nearly close enough for him to touch, but it was still close and he felt his breath hitch. "You missed it, so Uma put that aside for you."

"Ah," Ben nodded, squinting through the dark and then reaching down to feel some jerky and something that felt like a fresh vegetable on the side. "Thank you." It occurred to him that he hadn't eaten all day. "Is it safe?"

Mal burst into laughter, rolling her eyes, and Ben blushed. "Sorry," He apologized. "I didn't mean to accuse or anything."

"No, no," Mal shook her head. "I get it. Be careful of the food offered by kids of villains. I'm sure every kid in Auradon would know that."

"No!" Ben disagreed, snapping a little in his haste to explain himself. "No, that wasn't it at all. I totally trust you!" And to prove this, he reached down and found a piece of the vegetable, quickly raising it to his mouth and biting. Mal watched him with slatted eyes. It was so dark, he could barely tell where her body was, though he knew in the back of his mind what she looked like. Thin and powerful and with calluses and muscle in place of everywhere Audrey had soft skin and plush weight. He remembered, briefly, what it had felt like when he and Audrey had last lain beside each other over two years ago and then pictured Mal lying at his side in his wife's place.

God, was he so twisted that he was replacing Audrey after being away for a day?

'A month,' a voice nagged in his head. 'You haven't seen her for over a month. And she didn't look at you when you went to see her, so she hasn't seen you in longer.'

"I was just joking," she started in a slow tone. "I don't expect you to trust us after knowing us for a day and for, well, everything last night."

Ben blinked back at her and he hoped he could see the honesty in his eyes. "But I do," he replied.

Mal rolled her eyes. "Well, maybe you're a fool after all," She declared, and then pushed off of the tree. "Don't die overnight. Evie's rather fond of you."

"No, she's not, but she thinks I'm fond of you," Ben refuted. His words made Mal stop. She didn't turn to look at him, but he could almost feel her lips press closed.

"Careful, your majesty," she mumbled in a little hiss that had him immediately drawing connections to snakes and lizards and dragons. "Hasn't anybody bothered to warn you yet?"

"Only every person who mentions you," Ben raised an eyebrow. It was dark, but he somehow knew she would know. "It makes me wonder what happened to the last poor fellow?"

Mal snorted a little like he was a small child who'd said something particularly amusing and then walked away, still not looking back at him. He frowned a little and finished his dinner in the dark. Then, minding the ground, he headed back to the fires. In the light of one, Uma and Harry were standing very close, speaking to each other with tiny grins and soft whispers. Uma wrapped her fingers around Harry's hook carefully, and he watched her with a crazed look.

Ben set his plate down with a small stack of others he could vaguely see the outlines of. Uma glanced up at him. "Oh, good, you did get something to eat. I was wondering."

Ben nodded. "Yeah," he agreed. "Thanks for setting it aside for me."

Harry tilted his head a little and frowned at Ben as Uma's face twisted in confusion. "What?" She asked.

Ben stopped and examined her face. Pure, unabashed loss. She had no clue what she was talking about. "Oh," he shrugged it off. "I must have been misinformed. Pardon me. Well, I'll see you in the morning, then."

He turned and walked away, and Uma did not follow.

He went back up the road and found where Jay, Carlos, and Mal had been before. Jay and Carlos were curled up in their cots in the backs of their carts, and in the middle was a spare one for Ben. He hopped up, pulled his shoes off, and glanced around and up at the stars before noticing the next cart over. It was darkened, but nothing could silence Mal's striking green gaze as she hovered on the edge of the cart, gazing out over the road with her slatted gaze and watching everyone come and go. Watching him, specifically. She was like some emerald-gazed gargoyle, staring down from above.

Ben didn't say anything to her. He had a feeling he'd done enough damage for one day. He pulled up under the blankets and pressed his nose into the pillow, trying to put out the girl next door from his thoughts without forcing his head to acknowledge that there might be a small problem.


	4. Travel

**This was inspired by Xez2003's The Black Arrow; A Tale of Two Kingdoms. I do not own Disney Descendants.**

There was a loud crash from across the road and the ground shook as Ben, Jay, and Carlos were rolling up all their few possessions and packing them tightly into the very back of the cart. "Don't drop the teepee so hard!" Evie commanded, stomping over to where three young adults were sheepishly looking over. Ben felt the ground continue shaking as she walked past, and then turned to help Carlos heave a collection of wires, metal attachments, and whirring parts into the cart. Carlos said it was going to be a fan, but Ben couldn't quite see the vision yet.

"Ben!" Someone shouted, giving the 'e' in his name a little bark to it. "You finished yet? We could use your help down in the docks!" It was Uma, looking like she was ready to murder anyone who got in her way. Consequently, a path opened up. It was interesting, Ben had noticed, how everyone regarded the three – Uma, Mal, and Evie – as unspoken leaders who had no higher standing in comparison to each other.

"He's helping us pack up!" Jay declared, hoisting up a group of large, curved sticks that had been entrusted to his care by Evie for some sort of invented game. If there was one thing Ben had learned during these last few days, it was that the Islanders, now that they had left, knew how to have fun. They were always coming up with new activities and games. Ben hoped they'd be able to stop in Charmington to grab some cards so he could teach them card games. "Go get your lackeys and have them help you."

"They're all busy," Uma refuted, leaning against their cart. "I need help dismantling the last of the smoke system. So I'm coming to fish him out of your dump. My part of the camp's the important one anyway."

A leering voice came from the next cart over. "Just like your mother, always a catch." Ben turned to give Mal and exasperated look. He momentarily forgot his goal in the face of her new outfit – a neon green pantsuit with black streaks across it – but still managed to give her an exasperated look.

"Relax, Mal, I'll give your pet back unharmed," Uma rolled her eyes.

"Oh no, feel free to do whatever. Not like it'll hurt me at all," Mal arched an eyebrow. "Besides, it's about time you did something useful anyway."

"You eat, don't you?" Uma challenged. "Unless you'd like to eat raw meat with all the blood still in it?"

"We both know I wouldn't have a problem with that and it'd only make me look tougher than you," Mal deadpanned. Ben gave her a cautious glance. There was no joking in her voice.

"Last I checked, your mother thought she had things all sewn up too. How'd that work out for her again?" Uma asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Okay, enough," Ben rolled his eyes. "Mal, why don't you come off your perch and help Jay and Carlos finish? Unless you'd like to go help Uma pack things up?"

Jay gave him a sideways look with raised eyebrows, which only made Ben set his hands on his hips. Mal looked utterly offended. She hopped off her cart and took two steps so that the top of her head was about two inches away from his chin. If he really wanted to, he could lean forward and kiss her forehead, but he knew he wouldn't.

"What makes you think you can give me orders?" She asked with a low growl building in the back of her throat. Her teeth were clenched together.

"I didn't," Ben shook his head. "I asked why you weren't hopping down. I never told you that you had to."

"You insinuated it," Mal hissed.

"You assumed I did," Ben replied.

Uma crossed her arms and looked at Mal expectantly. Mal was fuming. He could practically feel her steaming. "I could hurt you," she threatened.

Ben shrugged. "Not without permission, I bet," he conceded. He doubted she'd hurt him anyways.

Mal let her gaze settle into something offensive and angry. She turned away from him and walked away with her hair flying out over her shoulders as she stormed off. Ben chuckled a little, knowing she'd hear it, and then turned around. Carlos's mouth was open a little and Jay looked like he was positive he'd started hallucinating.

"Wow," Uma nodded her approval. "I've never seen anyone do that."

Carlos reached out and tapped Ben's arm. "He's still alive?" He whispered. "She must be killing you from a distance."

"She won't," Ben rolled his eyes. "If she comes back, see if you can put her to work. She spends too much time perching up there."

Uma snorted and then nodded her head back to where her area was. Everyone called the area "the docks" because apparently, that had been Uma's territory on the Isle. Mal and Evie, meanwhile, shared "the city", though Evie was allowed to go wherever she wanted because she was a good diplomat. Apparently, Evie had been part of Mal's gang but had risen to a leadership position when Mal and Uma were unable to compromise without a mediator.

Uma showed him to an area mostly untended and set him to work dismantling things. She didn't stick around to help though. She never did, and Ben had a suspicion that it was because Harry Hook was still unsure of him.

After an hour of breaking apart wooden beams and stacking them into small, easily-maneuverable piles, Ben felt all the hair on the back of his neck rise up. He knew why. It always did when Mal entered the area.

He didn't bother searching for her. Part of the reason why was because Evie had picked up on his hypersensitivity and was a bit sore over it. He didn't know if she was around, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The other part was that he was curious to see if she'd seek him out.

He'd almost blocked out the prickling of the skin on the back of his neck when a pair of pale hands snatched the bundle he was reaching for and held them off the ground as he tied a rope around them. Ben almost jumped out of his skin. He glanced up and met Mal's bright, electric green eyes, then focused his gaze on the ground and on the task at hand.

She helped him tie up the smoking racks and then, when all twenty-four were tied up, gathered a few stacks into her arms. Ben watched her pick up two, then four, then eight stacks, and silently set out to do more than her. Not to prove he was stronger, because that was a useless endeavor, but to prove he was strong enough to help her. He lifted two with ease, then four with a bit of an awkward shift, then lifting six was like lifting Little Belle, and eight wasn't too bad, so he went to ten and then twelve and then found himself again staring into Mal's eyes as they both reached for the last one, her twelfth and his fourteenth.

Mal turned her head to the side a little. Ben cleared his throat a little bit. "Would it be more chivalrous of me to take it so you don't have to lift it, or let you take it so that I'm not coming off as underestimating your strength?"

"I know you don't underestimate me," Mal assured him softly. "But you should let me take it so that we're equals."

Equals. A title, not a description. Just like how Mal was "dangerous". She was offering an equal status. And she was offering to take it. Ben tilted his head at the same angle she had hers at. "This is your olive branch for threatening me earlier, huh?"

Mal's face turned scarlet and her hand shook above the pile a little. Ben smirked a little, picked up the bundle, and handed it to her. He and Mal took their stacks and headed towards Uma's carts. Ben hefted his into the cart and then jumped up to help Mal stack hers beside him. She didn't say anything as he pressed each stack into place, but she did nod an approval when he hopped back down. They stood beside each other for a second, and then Ben turned to head towards where Harry was packing up cooking supplies.

"Where are you going?" Mal asked, wrinkling her nose and turning to watch him leave.

"To go help Uma," Ben replied. "Aren't you ready to hit the road? You have a kingdom waiting for you."

Mal blinked slowly and said nothing as Ben walked away. He knew she was gone when his muscles relaxed and his skin began to warm again, but it still filled him with sadness when he glanced over his shoulder and she had vanished from view.

God, what kind of womanizer was he trying to make himself into?

* * *

"We need two to every wagon!" Evie commanded, walking down the road early the next day. Everything had been packed up, tucked away, secured and tied into the carts. The carts, it should be mentioned, were of various varieties. Some had tiny awnings raised over them, some had two wheels and a handle, others had four and were pushed with handles screwed into the side. Most were wood, though some were metal, and now everyone's belongings were cramming into them. Until they arrived, this would be where everyone slept and kept their things.

Jay and Carlos picked up the handle of the cart without even turning to Ben. They began chattering – a conversation about their parents on the Isle that they'd started hours ago – and Ben twisted his hands before turning away. "Evie!" He called, and the blue-haired girl turned on her heel. "Do you have any community carts that I could help with?" He asked.

Evie considered him and then nodded towards a rather long cart that had teepee poles and clothes stacked in most of it with several dozen hides weighing them down. Ben nodded and went to pick up the handle at the front of it. The wood was rough, but it would smooth out in a few days. The opposite was happening to his hands. Before, he'd only had calluses where he wrote, but now he was gaining thick patches all along the insides of his hands and on his arms a little bit. He had, for the first time in his life, a farmer's tan where he kept rolling his shirt up.

"Ben! Ben!" A group of nine-year-olds ran up with bright smiles and giggles. Ben quickly dropped the handle to give them all hugs. These kids were so much more expressive than moody Little Belle. They never begged for toys or candy, instead pleading for loves and hugs and the chance to be thrown into the air. Ben was happy to oblige – he didn't want to imagine how often they'd gotten bear hugs on the Isle. If only he knew how to help Little Belle be more like them – happy with small things, patient, and always wanting loves. Maybe it was the outside air? Or the chores?

Maybe he'd let Belle's nanny go when he got home. Let her go and downsize her room – make her spend time outside with other kids her age and without the endless expanse of colorful toys that didn't even entertain her anyways.

Of course, Audrey would complain. What were the chances he could do the same thing to his wife?

A little girl shyly extended a bouquet of white daisies that had been carefully pinched off their stems and arranged with little grass strands tying them together. Ben made a show of gasping in surprise, reaching for them carefully, pulling one out to put back into her hair, and then carefully tucking the rest of the bouquet into his suit pocket.

"Speak French!" One of the children begged, tugging on his arm.

Ben laughed. "Je parler pas Français!" he protested. "Tu es dingue!"

"To-eh you!" a little girl reached up and patted his cheeks as she tried to repeat what he'd said.

Ben kissed both of her cheeks and gave her a quick hug before standing back up. "Alright, little language learners, we have to get this show on the road. Go find your carts so you don't get left behind!"

They left gradually, bidding him dozens of farewells that left a bright smile plastered on his face, even when he felt his skin grow cold and his hair begin to stand on end again.

Did she always have to watch him? Why couldn't she just come talk? Instead, he always had to keep from looking for her, trying to keep Evie, Uma, or anyone else form thinking he was anticipating her arrival. Trying to convince himself to not anticipate her arrival.

"Alright, everyone!" Evie yelled from further down the road. "Jay and Carlos are in the lead. Anthony Tremaine is at the rear. Let's go!"

Slowly, one by one, carts began to pull out. Ben fished in his pocket for a handkerchief, still ignoring the icy feeling that told him a fairy was watching him, and then wrapped it around the handle before picking it up and heading forward. The weight of the cart was heavy, but not horrible. Ben could manage it with one hand for a short amount of time and then switch hands. His shoulder might kill at the end of the day, but he'd be able to manage.

As he hit the main road, he felt the wheel catch on something. He pushed a little more, and the wheel skidded but didn't continue forward. He glimpsed purple out of the corner of his eye and then chose to neither react nor meet her gaze as Mal ducked under the handle and then pulled out her own handkerchief to lay across the handle. Together, they shoved, and Ben felt a rock come loose in the ground before they moved forward and into a long line heading west into the forest.

"Thank you," Ben bid Mal. He wondered if she was sticking around to help him, though she should be helping Evie with their cart. She and Evie, being close as sisters, shared a living space, though Mal tended to go where she wanted when she wanted and only returned to the cart when she wanted to perch and observe all her subordinates.

"Yeah," Mal shrugged carelessly. She was silent for several seconds and then asked: "You're serious about all this, right?"

"Mal, I gave you my oath," Ben reminded her. Mal remained tight-lipped. "I won't be going anywhere until I've helped you guys resettle."

At this, Mal gave him a cursory look. "Why didn't you go help Uma?" She asked, changing the subject.

Ben blinked a little. "Well, Jay and Carlos kinda took over my cart, so I asked Evie and she directed me to come here." He tilted his head at her. "Why aren't you at your cart?"

Mal squinted at him. "This is my cart," She nods to the back.

Ben turned and furrowed his brow at the teepees and the hides. "I thought you had the one next to Jay and Carlos?" He asked.

"That's Evie's," Mal nodded in agreement. "I bunk with her and I watch over my gang." She shook her head. "Isle stuff. You wouldn't understand. But this is mine."

"Oh," Ben's cheeks turned a bit red. "I'm sorry for grabbing it so suddenly. This is… a little awkward."

"It's fine. Evie's fault anyway. She probably orchestrated it." Mal nodded to the front and Ben looked up just in time to see Evie turn around. She wasn't pulling a cart, but she was walking next to Carlos and holding a magnet. Ben admired her courage – strutting through the woods in stilettos. Even Audrey would have worn sneakers.

Ben pinched his lips together as he realized what has happened. A set-up. Evie must have known Mal would ask what he was doing. He wondered what her intentions were – to see if he would fall over himself again, to see if Mal would incinerate him or… what? "Is everyone trying to set me up to be beside you?" He asked with a little frustration. Behind him, the camp disappears. Beside him, Mal gave him an odd stare.

"Not me," she replied after several long moments. The cart clatters over several rocks.

"I would believe that, except I can feel your gaze wherever I go," Ben shot back. "You think I don't notice you watching, but I do. And things keep happening – you keep appearing – and I know they're not coincidences."

Mal furrowed her brow. "What are you implying?" She snapped.

"You know exactly what I'm implying," Ben fixed his gaze on hers. He may not have fire behind his eyes, but he's served as a father and as a king and knew how to do a pretty good death stare. Mal kept her gaze focused on the road and curled in her shoulders a little. "Is this what you do on the Isle?" He asked. "Hang out and scope out gentlemen and bewitch them into asking for dates?"

"We don't really date much on the Isle," Mal replied. "It's more like… gang activity."

Ben kept his eyebrows arched as the trees grew denser around them. The children are singing group songs around them as they march alongside the carts, picking up flowers and leaves and pretty pebbles. Many of these items will end up gifts for Ben later on. Finally, Mal broke. "I don't hand out to scope for… boys. I like being high because then I can see danger faster. That's how we spotted your company in the first place. It's how we kept safe on the Isle. They call it a hierarchy for a reason – whoever's at the top is the safest."

"Actually, second-highest is safest," Ben reasoned. "Everyone's always trying to knock the top person off, so if you're right below him or her, you're mostly safe." He elbowed her a little. "Which, I suppose, is why I'm the most-protected person in this camp. I'm right below the three and above everyone else." It also helped, he supposed, that the three all seemed to like him.

Mal debated his ideas with a snort and then a nod. He took that as a good sign.

The trail continued. Ben wondered briefly where it was coming from – there hadn't been any followable trail in the days he'd been in camp, but then he realized that must be the reason Mal's eyes were still lit up like she was doing magic – she had been creating the trail, due west, despite being stuck in the middle of the line. And with this knowledge, he tried harder to push the cart himself so Mal didn't have to overexert himself. Mal, however, matched her speed to his and he had to back down before they ran into the cart in front of them.

"I have a question," Ben announced when his mouth began to feel a bit dry. "You mentioned when I first came here that your middle name was worse than mine. And I've been thinking; what could possibly be worse than Florian?"

Mal panted a little as they walked. Ben reached back with one hand and found a dinged water bottle – a treasure from the Isle – tucked inside. He handed it to her, and she let one hand off the handle to take a drink before passing it to him and then answering. "Bertha," She replied. "My middle name is Bertha."

Ben almost dropped the water bottle. "Bertha?" He repeated. "As in Mal Bertha?"

"Yeah," Mal frowned. "Just my mother doing what she does best; being really, really evil." She brandished a finger at him. "Now, don't you go spewing that around!" She warned.

Ben blinked at her nail, dangerously close to his eyes. He squinted a little at her and then managed to take a drink before re-stowing the water bottle away. "Wait," he frowned. "Who else knows?"

Mal kept her lips sealed shut and Ben formulated his own answer. Evie, Jay, and Carlos at the most. At the least, only him. "What makes me so special?" He asked.

Mal shrugged, furrowing her brow together. "You asked," She decided.

That sort of makes sense. Mal wasn't very approachable; chances are no one had ever bothered to ask. But that didn't explain how she didn't want him telling anyone. If she'd were honest with anyone who asked, then it wouldn't be a problem if he said anything. "Mal?" He asked.

Mal sighed in something like agony. "Ben," she began, "Shut up and walk."

* * *

When they stopped for the night, Ben made sure Mal had a place to sleep either in her own cart or in Evie's. It looked like she'd be staying in Evie's, as she was back up on her perch again. Evie's cart had a little bench overlook on top of it, which made it a bit heavier, but they can also fit emergency supplies and some sparse weapons in there, so it doesn't matter. She watched him as he walked by, glanced at the small space they'd cleared out, and noticed her spellbook set on her pillow.

"You're doing it again," He teased a little without much humor in his tone. "Perching and scoping out gentlemen to kidnap and bewitch."

Mal let her face twist into a little thing of amusement. "What does that say about you?" She asked.

Ben, once again, was at a loss for words. He hadn't meant to convey his predicament so obviously… that he is being bewitched even though he really shouldn't be. He swallowed as Mal leaned down from her perch to examine him. Her green eyes had faded to grey, and he could see those golden flecks sparkling in the setting sun. "Is it working?" She asked softly, curiously.

Ben jolted out of his thoughts and shook his head furiously to clear it. "Goodnight Mal," He bid her and then left.

* * *

"This is worse than any punishment my mother ever gave me," Mal growled as she kicked a rock out of their path. Ben snorted. It's the third day of walking. Their faces are all sunburned. Ben's hands had cracks running up them. Mal's fingernails were chipping off and her nails have little brown streaks in them. Everyone had splinters, but theirs's are less because of the ingenious idea of the handkerchiefs.

Mal had entertained him occasionally with stories of everything under the sun – the Isle, setting up the camp, and – his favorite – her childhood. He'd decided Mal definitely had a height complex – she wa a dragon, meant to be in the air anyways, but this combined with the fact she grew up in a tower on the Isle of the Lost and one of her chores was to scope for danger while her mother slept and then later they built a hideaway that was forty feet off the ground and Mal used to stay up all night watching over her friends… it's no surprise she acted the way she did now. He had noticed, however, that she had shifted her post to be of equal distance between him, Jay, Evie, and Carlos since he'd arrived. He was in her circle of protection now, and he was creeping steadily towards his own circle of danger.

Part of him knew he should come clean about Audrey now. Part of him hoped that someone else would mention it to her. A very naïve part of his brain wondered if she already knew and was only doing these things – watching him, dropping small remarks, examining him – to see how uncomfortable she could make him.

If she was, there was a problem with that plan – he wasn't uncomfortable. On the contrary, a week of eating Uma's food and doing real work and having real conversations with people and sleeping under real stars had done wonders for him. Part of him wanted to throw Audrey's ring in a bush and let Evie rip up his Auradon crest shirt for scraps and never, _ever_ look back, but the other part whined uncomfortably and conjured up a feeling of disappointment and guilt in such a strong manner than Ben was almost left gasping for breath. He wasn't uncomfortable; he was desperate for change. And that realization was despicable because really, if he needed more love, he should ask Audrey to be more affectionate. To come into his office from time to time and smile. To attend dinner with him and Little Belle. To go places with him and go see their old friends. He shouldn't have been running off with other women and over-analyzing the amount of time they spent watching him whenever he's helping to do any heavy-lifting or when he's playing with the other kids or… anything.

"Yeah?" he snorted as Mal continued to complain under her breath. "I don't know about you, but this is the best thing that has happened to me."

Mal rolled her eyes. "You were obviously spoiled rotten, then."

"Guilty as charged," Ben affirmed in the driest tone he could conjure up. Maybe that's the problem with Little Belle – he and Audrey have spoiled her too much. Would it be too drastic to take everything away and start from scratch? Perhaps if he could keep Audrey out of the picture long enough, then…

God, he couldn't decide if he wanted his wife closer or farther.

Mal tripped a little over a sparse rock and Ben snatched her arm before she could fall forward. Her face turned a little red as she regained her footing. "Sorry," she mumbled quickly and then kept her gaze fastened on the ground in embarrassment. Ben let a little smile pull at the corner of his mouth. He decided not to mention it.

"What's Auradon like?" Mal asked, huffing a little harder as the trail turned steeper.

Ben shrugged. "They're very... selfish. I mean, I'm going to probably work until the day I die for them, but I'll never get any credit for it."

"Or at least until the throne is passed on," Mal reminded him nonchalantly. Her words made him stumble. She snatched his arm and hoisted him back up as he stared at her with a bit of a wild tone in his eyes. He hadn't mentioned to anyone, yet, that he had a daughter. Jay, Uma, and a couple of other people knew about Audrey, but the fact he was also a father hadn't been raised yet. How would Mal know?

"I wasn't trying to insinuate anything," Mal snapped a little, wrinkling her nose at his reaction. "Geesh, did I hit a sore spot or something?"

Ben stared at her, trying to puzzle out what she meant, and then slowly shook his head. "No," He mumbled. "My apologies. I misheard."

Mal examined him a little bit more and then turned her attention back to walking without any further questions or prodding. Ben, too, focused on taking one step before another as the cold sweat dried off his skin, and his heart thudded in his chest.


	5. Rain

**This was inspired by Xez2003's The Black Arrow; A Tale of Two Kingdoms. I do not own Disney Descendants.**

They passed Charmington by, and then a week into the trek, it rained.

They had seen the storm coming, and so they'd had time to erect teepees and lean-tos and a couple of large canopies that Carlos had whipped up. Then, they'd turned over some of the carts and covered all the supplies with tarps and hides. Now that there was no more work needing to be done, Ben was hiding out underneath a cart with Jay and Carlos, Evie and Uma. Evie, Uma, and Carlos were doing some sort of crazy math that Carlos invented to figure out how far they've gone while Jay and Ben played a game with a stick. The stick had one end painted red. One person flipped it to the other, and if they caught the red end, it's a point against them.

Ben heard the first few drops hit the ground as he caught the stick in mid-air. He paused, twirling it in his fingers before looking around at their group. "Where's tall, pink and scary?" he asked, flipping the stick to Jay, who snorted at the contradiction he'd painted. Ben raised an eyebrow at him as he threw the stick wide and Ben had to lean in his chair to grab it.

"Out," Uma shrugged. "Don't worry, Prince Charming, she'll be back soon. Then you can stop pining for her."

Ben rolled his eyes. "I love how you all assume I'm completely smitten for her despite the fact I treat her and Dizzy about the same way," he snorted. Now, to be fair, he did think Mal was very lovely, but he had Audrey to remember. Aside and Little Belle.

"Except you don't drool when you look at Dizzy," Evie laughed. She'd stopped being sore at Ben's subtle rejection and was now prone to making all the suggestive comments she could, taking great joy in the way he dismissed her every whimsical notion. "And your eyes don't get all big and wide and you don't start ignoring everyone else around you."

Ben scoffed. "Sure, Evie," He sighed. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Give it a month," Evie recommended with a wicked grin. "You'll be helping _her_ sleep at night and I'll be right." She turned to Uma with a smirk pulling at her lips. "I can't wait to see what their wedding will look like. It's sure to be a royal spectacle."

Ben's mouth went dry. This was not careless teasing. It was not friendly jabs. He and Jay both stopped their game as Jay's dark gaze hovered on Ben's shocked expression.

"Evie," Ben swallowed nervously. "You know I'm married, right?"

Evie's mouth dropped open and she spun to stare at him face-on. Ben kept his expression straight and serious as he pulled out his ring. "I, uh, don't wear the ring when I travel. It got broken too many times the first year I tried." He held it out for proof. It was a flashy, rough, ugly sort of thing. Ben hadn't ever actually thought a wedding ring could be ugly until Audrey had dropped that one in his hand. It was blue and made entirely from sapphire with little silver tendrils curling around it. Partially clear, and with her name on the outside, though it was hard to see without focusing. It was, he thought, a good allegory for how their relationship was. Very expensive, flashy, centered on her and often uncomfortable to wear.

Carlos sucked in a breath as Uma let out a whistle. "Way to go big or go home," she laughed. "Why'd you pick that shade of blue? It doesn't match with anything."

Ben shrugged, red tones creeping into his neck. "She did," he admitted. "I, uh, just went along with it." He replaced the chain around his neck and hid the ring from sight, feeling sheepish. "I, uh, know it doesn't exactly blend in very well. I think that was her intention."

Uma turned her head to the side. "But you like this girl, right?" She demanded. "Like, Auradon True Love and everything?"

Ben blinked slowly at all of them as they leaned forward. This was the part where he agreed. Yes, he and Audrey were in love. They were, after all, the example of what everyone in Auradon wanted. He had to play that part so that these people - these new citizens of Auradon - would know what to search after. Perfect marriage with your one True Love and Happily Ever After. But for some reason, he couldn't conjure his affirmation. He gave an odd motion instead - something that was half nod and half-shrug. He tried to open his mouth to say something to back up his motion but a dozen images stopped him. Audrey, not even looking at him when he came in to tell her Belle had been dropped from preschool for bad behavior. Audrey, forbidding him to touch or move a dozen different items when they first moved in together. Audrey, slowly filling up everything everywhere with her and her presence while Ben watched all things small and simple fade from existence.

"Oh man," Carlos exhaled. "That's rough, man."

Ben blinked. He hadn't said anything aloud, but apparently, his face had changed while he was consumed in his thoughts. "It's, uh, not ba - I mean - it's manageable."

"Does Mal know?" Jay asked, pulling his focus back to the purple-haired girl's right-hand associate.

Ben shrugged. "I assumed word would get around but apparently not. Does Mal need to know?"

His only answer was an awkward silence and the shifting glances of everyone around. Ben's heart sank. This had obviously gone way further than he ever intended. "I'll... drop a hint," he agreed dejectedly and ran his hand through his hair.

"A hint for what?" Someone asked as they walked up. Everyone's heads snapped over to where Mal was approaching with a sword swung over her shoulder. Ben swallowed. It was one thing to - break her heart? Let her down? Disappoint her? But it was another to do it when she had a means to decapitate him.

"Nothing," Ben assured her. "Where did you run off to?"

"Just out," Mal rolled her eyes and used her foot to pull up a chair beside Evie, within easy reach of Ben. She stuck the sword into the ground, leaned her chin against her hand, and then put her feet over by Uma's chair. Uma wrinkled her nose and kicked Mal, but Mal moved her foot out of the way of the blow and then set it on top of the teal-haired girl's foot.

Ben sighed and leaned over to knock Mal's hand out from under her chin. "Quit antagonizing each other," He demanded. "You guys are so similar it's hilarious."

On instinct, Evie opened her mouth to make a snide comment, then closed it without further comment. Mal stuck her tongue out at Ben. "Sure, your majesty," She rolled her eyes. "I thought you weren't going to be giving out orders?"

"Fair point," Ben nodded. "Mini-Maleficent, would you kindly refrain from pestering the daughter of Ursula, who is patient enough to keep feeding your ungrateful behind day after day?"

Uma burst into laughter about the same time Mal spun around, eyes lit up, to glare at Ben. "Beasty boy," She drawled, glaring at him. Ben's heart thudded against his chest. There was a sudden pain under his tongue and he realized that Evie was right - he was drooling. He closed his mouth in time to listen to Mal continue talking. "Would you like to quit talking or would you like to lose a few fingers?"

"To be honest, neither option sounds quite right," Ben sighed, leaning back in his chair. "You know what, Mal? I'm calling your bluff. Let's see this violence you keep threatening me with." He leaned back into an upright stance and offered Mal his right hand. She blinked at it in shock.

"What?" She gasped. "Are you insane?"

"Go on," Ben snorted. "Let's see your threat in action. I bet you won't."

Mal shoved his hand away. When their skin brushed, his heart did flip-flops inside his chest. He could feel pins and needles all along where she had touched him, and he was suddenly short of breath. As he leaned back into his seat, trying to conjure up a triumphant smile, he focused on making sure his lungs were still functional.

A sudden boom echoed throughout the sky. Everyone gasped and Mal seized her sword, jumping to her feet. Evie, Jay, Uma, and Carlos all spun around to see where the sound had come from. Ben stared. "It's just thunder," he told them. "Did you not have it on the Isle? In storms and everything?"

"We had storms," Uma frowned, staring at him in confusion. "But our storms didn't yell at us."

Ben snorted and then covered his face as he laughed. "I'm sorry," He apologized. "It's not the storm, it's the electricity in the air. The same stuff that's in batteries. See, when the weather is dry and there are lots of temperature changes in the air, you can get lightning. It's a lot of sparks that can fall from the sky. You'll probably see some here soon - it's very beautiful. But anyways, light travels faster than sound, so the lightning comes first and then the thunder follows. You can actually calculate how far away the storm is by counting how far in between they are."

"So, the thunder comes from the lightning?" Evie asked, leaning out over the edge of the cart and examining the sky. In the distance, Ben could hear people panicking, calling for help. They'd have to head out to explain everything soon.

"Yeah," Ben nodded. "But when they first named them, they didn't realize that." He stood up, brushed his legs off, and then pointed to the skyline, where scores of dark clouds were approaching. "Here, wait a moment, we'll probably see some lightning and then I'll show you how to tell how far away it is." He leaned against the cart with an arm above his head. Evie, Carlos, and Mal all leaned forward, examining the skyline quizzically.

"We didn't have lightning on the Isle," Jay murmured. "I guess the barrier stopped the electricity."

"But you do know what electricity is, right?" Ben asked. "I can explain that too."

"We do," Carlos nodded. "I found a book on it once. And that's how we escaped. I used a magnetic pulse to break the barrier long enough for Mal to get in the hole and hold it open."

A flash of yellow appeared off in the far distance. Evie gasped in shock and Ben saw every single hair on Mal's arm stand up on end. Her face had gone paler with surprise. "One," he counted softly, still tracing her face with his eyes. "Two, three, four…" He waited for the boom of thunder to follow. Finally, it did, making everyone jump a little before they all relaxed and began to laugh. "Twenty-two," Ben announced. "Sound travels a mile every five seconds. The storm is a little over four miles away."

"Four point four," Carlos breathed. "You divide the seconds by the time." He began to laugh, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Can you tell when it'll get here?" Mal asked, frowning a little as she cautiously waited for another bolt to appear. Ben smirked. Was the daughter of Maleficent afraid of a little lightning?

"No," he responded. "If we had some wind gizmos, we could tell how quickly the wind is blowing and then distance over time is speed. And in Auradon, we've launched satellites so that we can track storms from space and see what direction they're moving and where they form."

"Woah," Evie whispered softly. Ben ripped his gaze off of Mal long enough to see that she'd looked back at him. The look on her face was one of pure amazement. Then, she glanced at Mal and her face twisted in something like pain. Ben turned back to Mal and raised an eyebrow to see her studying him.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"This is all common knowledge in Auradon, isn't it?" She asked, setting her sword aside dejectedly. "There's no way you just happen to know all this."

"Well," Ben shrugged his head back and forth. "It's taught in some schools but I doubt anyone remembers it. I know it because, well, there was this one story about a little girl who left her bear in a rainstorm and she was trying to figure out how far away the storm was so she could go grab it. It was like, the second grade. I'm probably the only person who remembers it. And then the distance and speed stuff, I know that from a physics book I reread last summer."

"And the compass?" Mal asked.

Ben laughed. "It's stupid," He warned her. "See, when I was younger, I really wanted to run off into the wilderness and leave Auradon behind. So I read all these books about people who survived being stranded or lost or people who struck out on their own. There was one about a guy who got lost in a jungle after a plane crashed. There was a sewing needle in a first aid kit he had and so he made a compass and figured if he went straight in one direction, it'd keep him from going in circles."

"So, you just remember everything you read?" Evie asked.

"Not everything," Ben shook his head. "But lots of things, yes. I like to read."

Mal wrinkled her nose up further and further as he spoke and crossed her arms as if his words were irking her. Ben tilted his head at her. "Do you have a favorite book, Mal?" He asked.

Mal turned away and hefted her sword back up into her arms before pulling a whetting stone out of her pocket and starting to scrape the edge of the blade with it. "I like the history books we had back on the Isle," she muttered, glaring at the ground.

Ben furrowed his brow. "Did you guys not have any storybooks sent over? Or fiction stuff? I know Auradon wasn't the best provider, but surely some things would have slipped in along the textbooks?"

Mal huffed and turned her head away from Ben's. Her face was an angry peach color. "I can't _read, _Ben," she admitted in a hiss.

Ben dropped his arm off the cart and stared at her in shock. "What?" he gasped. "But… Evie and Carlos can." He nudged Uma. "Can you?" He asked. Then, across the way to Jay, "Can you?"

Uma snorted and shook her head. "Only the menu items and some words in dutch," she replied.

Jay shook his head. "I know numbers," He replied.

Mal still wouldn't meet his eyes, instead brushing her hair to cover her face even more. Ben took a step forward and leaned a little bit to catch her hard gaze glaring at the ground. The moment she glimpsed him in her peripherals, she whipped away and turned her back to him. "Mal?" He asked.

"What, Ben?" She snapped, venom dripping from her tone. "I can't read. Sorry that not everyone on the Isle is as educated as you Auradonian filth."

"Mal," Evie whispered softly behind him.

Mal turned briefly to her friend, and then turned back away, still avoiding him, and continued sharpening her blade. "I didn't need to know how," She explained in a softer, more vulnerable tone. "I needed to know what was poisonous and how to use whatever magic I could inside the barrier. I needed to memorize the spells my mom told me and I needed to make sure my gang was protected and never questioned. When I showed up for classes, it was to hurl spitballs at students and mock the lower villains who taught the classes. We had Hostage Taking, Selfishness 101, things like that. I made Carlos do all my work."

Ben's gaze flicked over to Carlos, who had nodded twice to her final statement. Before his eyes, a picture spread of Mal, the pinnacle of evilness, trying to be everything her mother wanted her to be, throwing everything paper at Carlos. That was why Carlos knew math and reading and some sciences. Mal's education had inadvertently gone to him. "I could teach you," He offered before he gestured to Jay and Uma as well. "I could show you all how to read."

Uma scrunched her brow together. "I'd like that," She nodded. "And I'd want Harry to learn with me. Think I could learn things like you?"

"I'm sure you could learn more," Ben laughed. He glanced at Jay, but Jay didn't look too interested. Mal glanced up, pushing her hair back just enough to peer out at him, and then went back to sharpening her sword without a word. He wasn't sure if that was a yes or a no. He cleared his throat. "But you like history?" He asked.

Mal said nothing. He waited, but she remained tight-lipped. Finally, he turned away with a sigh. Some days, she was open to him. Others, she was just as closed off as Audrey.

"I better go calm everyone down," Evie hummed after a moment. "Uma, want to help me cover ground?"

Uma nodded and the two girls peered out from under the cart cautiously before they sprinted across the field. Ben furrowed his brow at them. It was as if they were afraid of the sky. Carlos left too - in the same manner - looking excited about a revelation he had just had. Now it was just him, Mal, and Jay.

He listened to Mal scrape her blade against the stone and sighed as another flash of lightning lit up the sky. One… two… three… at eighteen seconds, thunder shook the sky, inciting more panic from the others in the camp. He saw Mal flinch, but she made no sound. It occurred to him that if they had counted the time between the first and second lightning strikes, they could tell how fast the storm was moving. He'd suggest the idea to Carlos when he returned.

"I don't think this is a problem, but if the lightning happens to start a fire when it strikes, we'll have to put it out somehow," Ben mentioned, scoffing at the ground. It wasn't dry, per se, but would still probably blaze if prompted.

Mal glanced towards the clouds, finally pushing her hair back out of her face. "I'll put it out," She promised. "I know a spell. It's made for dragon fire, but it should work fine for normal fire."

Ben nodded and sat down with a sigh. "You know lots of spells?" He asked. Mal nodded but didn't expand. "Did your mom make you memorize them."

Mal glared at him. A real glare, one that made his entire body feel cold and hot at the same time. "Ben," She spat, and he knew she was being absolutely serious about this because she was using his real name and not something like 'Prince Charming' or 'Beast Boy', "don't ask me about my mother,"

Ben nodded and looked away from her. "Sorry," He apologized.

There was a deep silence. Ben supposed that Mal had gotten used to him responding with varying levels of sarcasm and now his sincerity was strange to her. He listened carefully as she set her sword aside and then sat down in her chair, still facing mostly away from him. There were several long beats of silence, wherein lightning flashed again in the distance and then, ten seconds later, thunder made Mal jump. He glanced over at her, watching her purple hair brush against the back of her chair.

Finally, she cleared her throat and turned her head a little more so he could see the elegant slope of her nose behind her hair. "Evie used to read books aloud when she was first learning. Carlos taught her because he noticed she was interested in chemistry. Mostly books on sciences and then some literature. She read Sleeping Beauty aloud once or twice. Didn't notice I was listening in for a long time and then just waited until I wasn't busy to start reading."

"She's a good friend," Ben gave a slight nod. "I'm glad you had that opportunity."

Mal snorted a little. She looked down the field and Ben followed her gaze to see Carlos dashing across the field holding a variety of metal tools. Ben stood up and held his hand out. "Carlos!" He called. "I had a thought on how to predict when the storm will get here."

Carlos reached the carts, panting, and then dropped a variety of things onto the ground. "Oh?" He asked. "I was going to build a thing for the wind."

"You should," Ben nodded. "Just in case we run into a storm with no thunder or lightning. But if you count the distance twice, so two lightning and thunder rounds, and also count the time between flash number one and two, we can figure out how much ground the storm covered in X amount of time, and then distance over speed is time."

Carlos tilted his head and then began to nod ecstatically. He sat down in his chair with his collection around him and began fiddling while also examining the skyline. It wasn't long before he pointed and said "There!" and began tapping out a count on his leg.

Mal continued looking out over the field. "Evie and Shrimpy better get back soon," She grumbled. "Don't want them to be stranded out in the field."

"Uma," Ben corrected automatically. Thunder cracked and Mal stiffened. Ben stood up and stepped out from under the cart's cover. He headed around to the side and pulled from a chest he'd been given two jackets that Evie had gifted him. One she'd made after measuring him, the other she had simply altered. The 'From Scratch' one was blue, and the other was brown. Ben wondered if she'd have a problem if he kept one or both when he left.

He pulled the brown jacket on, noting how it didn't quite fit right around his torso, and then stepped back underneath the cart. Mal was leaning forward in her chair, squinting down the field and looking a little concerned. Thunder cracked again and she jumped.

"That's three!" Carlos exclaimed. "So it's now point six miles away and before it was one. It was thirty seconds in between flash to flash, so it traveled point four miles in thirty seconds."

"So about another minute and a half?" Ben asked. He heard a plopping sound on the underside of the cart. Mal withdrew her foot from the edge of the cart, looking alarmed.

"You sure the carts will be safe, Mal?" Carlos asked, glancing up at the wooden underside in fear.

"Should be," Mal nodded. "I spelled them all."

Ben dropped his blue jacket, the one Evie had made, around her shoulders and pulled her hair out from under the collar. Mal almost jumped straight out and her hands balled into fists as she whipped her head around to see what he was doing. "Relax," He muttered under his breath, smoothing the shoulders down over her own petite ones. "There. That'll protect you from the thunder."

Mal did relax a little, though she stared at him with something that was either fearful confusion or confused fear. "Why do I need protection from the thunder?" She asked.

Ben shrugged, sitting back down. "You don't seem to like it much. Don't worry; it won't actually hurt you."

"I'm just not used to it," Mal scoffed, picking at the zipper on his jacket. "So I don't actually need this?"

"Nah," Ben shook his head. "Just thought I'd be nice and grab something for you." He didn't look at Jay or Carlos. He didn't want to see the judging looks in their eyes.

The rain started to come down in tiny little pitter-patters that made Ben relax into his chair with his eyes closed. The smell of rain and of wood and of Mal washed over him. This was nice. He could stay like this for a long, long…

Someone screamed.

He snapped to attention, looking around to see Evie and Uma in full sprint across the field. Evie. Evie had screamed. What was wrong? Was there a snake, or-

Mal jumped to her feet. "Come on!" She yelled, anxiety clear in her tone. Evie dashed towards them, face white, almost crying, while Uma slowed, looked confused. She held a hand up to the sky as lightning flashed overhead and thunder followed almost instantaneously afterward.

Evie crashed into Mal, flinging water off her hands and shaking from panic. Ben was baffled. "What's wrong?" He asked, staring at them in shock. "Was there a snake or something?"

Mal wrinkled her face up at him. "What?" She asked. "No, we could have dealt with a snake. But the rain. Doesn't it-"

"Guys!" Uma barked from where she stood, about five feet from the carts in the rain as it came crashing down, soaking her from head to toe. "It ain't burning!"

Evie stopped sobbing and stared at Uma in wonder. She examined her own skin, where a few raindrops had fallen, and then reached her hand out to catch a handful of water. It slipped through her fingertips, taking all dirt with it, and she let out a breath.

Mal frowned at the water outside and then, in a moment of determination, stepped out into the downpour. Jay had finally gotten to his feet to stare outside with his jaw gaping. She turned her face skyward, closed her eyes, and stood still while the rain hit her face. "Oh my gosh," she whispered. "It's clean."

Evie stepped out too, then Jay and Carlos. Evie began to laugh, clapping her hands to her mouth. "Auradon has clean rain!" She gasped. "Woah!"

Ben's hands shook a little as he took in the scene, and then he swallowed as he slowly got to his feet. "Don't get too cold," he warned. "You'll catch a chill."

Mal opened her eyes and looked back at him. A blinding smile spread across her face, making his heart twist. He raised an eyebrow in response to her and then nodded to the downpour. "You don't have this on the Isle?" He asked.

"Our rain burns our skin," Mal explained. "And it rots through wood. Dangerous."

Ben felt like he might be sick as he watched her take in the new experience with a smile. She turned away from him and then walked out further into the field. He watched her in the rain. Her hair stuck to her face and her smile grew all the brighter when raindrops hit her cheeks. She turned her face heavenward as if there was nothing more magical than rain.

Holy heavens above, she was beautiful. So beautiful he could feel his knees giving out as she slowly stole the breath from his lungs.

The storm grew thick and nasty, but all the VK's stayed out, spinning and laughing as they explored the new experience. Jay was the first to come back, shivering and blue with a bright smile on his face. Then, softly after, Mal returned, puffing a little as she collapsed into her chair. His jacket had served as a waterproof covering, so she wasn't too soaked, but her hair still stuck to her face.

"That," she gasped, "is magical,"

Ben chuckled and then leaned forward and picked up a lock of her hair, turning it in his hand. It curled when it was wet. Then, coming to his senses, he dropped it and turned back to the outside. "Yeah. I've always loved the rain."

"You love everything," Mal blurted out. Ben glanced sideways at her. If he was single, this would be the perfect moment for a pick-up line. If he was dating her, it'd be the perfect time to make her blush with something like "I love you."

Uma gasped as she stepped back into the cover of the cart, and Mal's mood soured just a tad as she turned away from Ben. Uma watched Ben out of the corner of her eyes as she collapsed back into her long-abandoned chair with a sigh. And Ben remembered what he had to do. Clue Mal in.

How to do it? How to break this fragile little thing they had going? He swallowed and looked back out at the rain. The sky had darkened, and he could barely see Evie and Carlos enjoying the downpour. The clatter was so loud that he wondered how, if he said anything, anyone would hear him.

Mal stood up and stood beside him, close enough he could drop his arm around her and pull her close if he wanted. Not if he wanted; if he could. If he wasn't already spoken for. "I love the rain," she whispered softly.

It was probably, he thought, the first time she'd ever admitted to loving something aloud.

"My daughter hates it," he whispered, keeping his eyes locked on the sky as a flash of lightning lit the sky up.

There was a very, very long silence. Except for the fact that Mal had put a foot behind her and he could feel the increasing confusion and hostility rising from her, he would have thought the statement had gone unnoticed. He finally dared to glance towards her and the sight was worse than he'd anticipated. Her lower lip was jutted out as she squinted at him and clouds of hurt had fogged over her eyes. Behind him, he could see Jay and Uma exchange an anxious glance while letting out simultaneous exhales. "What?" Mal asked.

"My daughter," Ben forced himself to say. "She, uh, she's a lot like her mom. Doesn't really like the rain very much. It used to scare her a lot, but now she just complains whenever it rains." Belle would complain no matter the day or time, but there wasn't a way he could phrase that frustration at the moment. He turned a little towards Mal and then glanced down at his jacket on her frame. "During rainstorms when she was little, she'd come and curl up in our bed. My wife would steal my sweaters and we'd read together."

It occurred to him too late that details like that might hurt her more.

Mal's face glassed over and looked down at the jacket around her shoulders. Her hands came up to tug lightly at the zippers. "You're married?" She asked, sounding very stifled.

"Yeah," Ben mumbled softly. "For seven years."

He waited to see what her full reaction would be. Mal's emotions were always puzzles. Her sarcasm made up for laughter and amusement. Her insults made up for tears or anguish. He watched her hands curl around the zipper of his jacket before she abruptly spun around, ripped it off her shoulders, and dropped it in his chair. She pushed her wet hair back and then ducked back into the storm. Ben followed her departure with his eyes. She glowed green until the darkness grew too thick and she had vanished from sight.

"You could have said that a bit better," Uma reprimanded softly. She reached for Mal's sword and ran her finger down the blade. She and Mal both liked using big, scary, threatening things to hide behind.

Ben nodded silently. "I guess," he muttered, and then picked up his blue jacket. Part of him wanted desperately to raise the jacket to his nose and take a deep whiff to see if she'd left behind any scent, but he knew now wasn't the time nor place.

"So, are you and your wife... close?" Jay asked, furrowing his brow in confusion. "Because earlier, you made it sound like you weren't."

Ben considered a response, twisting the collar of his jacket in his hands. When none came to mind, he shrugged and looked out to the rain. The rain that Mal loved. The rain she'd looked beautiful in.

Maybe if Audrey could find joy in small things like Mal could, he'd love her-

Well, he shouldn't be thinking like that.


	6. Smack

**This was inspired by Xez2003's The Black Arrow; A Tale of Two Kingdoms. I do not own Disney Descendants.**

In the morning, the ground was too spongy to move the carts without heaping piles of mud attaching themselves to the rims. Ben went around helping people pull their carts onto higher ground, and they all simultaneously decided that they'd park and wait for the day. Uma's large tent was erected, and then small children ran around with large sticks, chasing each other and playing swords. The rain had also brought a small benefit - in places where the mud had run, it had revealed dozens of different types of roots under the ground.

Ben helped Uma haul out the kitchen equipment, clean off what had been dirtied, and then they directed crowds of meandering people to the tedious task of digging up the roots. Ben, Harry, Gil, and several others scrubbed off the tough outsides as they came in with metal brushes, and then even more people shredded them and added them to heaping pots of water set directly onto the flames. Uma herself was busy, adding portions of shredded meat, a few dried fruits, and other items to the pots along with a variety of things like hickory salt, which Ben had decided he was going to get heaps of when he returned to the palace, and pepper. Some items came from the Isle, while others Uma had taken from their surroundings.

Gil told jokes as they worked, making the work fast and easy. Ben laughed, but his heart still felt heavy. Mal hadn't ever returned, and no one had seen her. He wondered if she had some sort of invisibility spell, but if she did, she wasn't looking for him.

"Ben," Uma called from her place by the pots. "Fetch me a ladle!"

Harry pouted. "Why he?" He demanded, sticking his lips out a tad.

"Because I need you to stay here and keep Jimmy from messing up," Uma nodded at a smaller boy who was fumbling with the large knives, "He can do the job well enough anyway."

"Sure thing, Uma," Ben nodded, setting his knife down and wiping his hands off before he set toward the large covered tent that had housed the equipment during the storm. His shoes stuck in the ground as he walked. Evie had finally gifted him so tennis shoes, which were much more comfortable than the boots he'd originally worn. He was wearing black pants and a blue shirt. He was grateful Evie was now catering to his normal colors and thought it was still strange to be out of suits, even though he'd been away for almost three weeks now.

As he reached for the tent flap, he heard Evie's voice from inside and paused, wondering if he should come back later. However, then he heard someone else, and couldn't stop himself from leaning forward to listen.

"No, Evie, that's not it at all," Mal huffed, clearly exhausted. "Listen, can you just leave me to sleep? I went all across the valley last night in the rain." Ben's fingers twitched. She was back?

"Well, that's your fault," Evie declared. "You can rest for a while, but we need you here. We needed you here. When everything is stable, you can run wherever and go wherever, but the VK's need us now. Remember? The kids we promised?"

"I know," Mal groaned. Ben could picture her face - exhausted and melancholy with a half-lidded stare. His fingertips grazed the canopy flap. He really should walk in now, and announce his presence and purpose before he overheard something he wasn't supposed to.

"Mal, what happened?" Evie asked in a soft tone.

There were several seconds wherein Ben pictured her shifting her weight while he tried to convince himself to enter, grab the ladle, and leave. His fingers itched towards the opening.

"I don't know," Mal finally admitted in this broken tone that Ben hadn't imagined could come from her. "I just… got so angry. Hurt and angry… I don't know. It was like I'd been lied to, but I knew I hadn't been. I guess I just let things get too big in my head, and then-"

"Ben told you?" Evie asked in a hushed whisper.

Mal burst into this crazed, frenzied laughter that made his skin crawl. "I don't know why - I should have assumed! I mean, yeah, there was no ring, but!" She choked a little. "I just… I thought for a while…"

She stopped. Ben's hands felt like ice. He knew exactly what she'd been thinking. That he'd liked her. That they had something small and special. That it was a beginning to something greater. He knew because he'd been thinking the same things too.

"You love him?" Evie asked, and that was the thing that brought Ben back to earth. He was eavesdropping. It was wrong. He shouldn't be invading their privacy like this.

"I don't want to!" Mal exploded. "This isn't fair - he has no right to be making me like this and-"

Ben seized the tent flap and opened it. Mal's rant cut short. He stepped out of the sunlight, ducking a little as he entered, and then kept his gaze firmly on the ground as silence reigned and he listened to Evie and Mal gape in shock. Then, finally, he let his gaze drift up. Evie looked a little green while Mal had gone glasslike again. She was like a statue as she examined him. He felt like some sort of bug under than piercing gaze, even without the magic.

"Sorry," He whispered. "I was coming in for a ladle for Uma. I wasn't going to start eavesdropping, but I was surprised to hear Mal was back and froze up. I apologize for invading your privacy."

"How much did you hear?" Mal asked, stone-faced. She wasn't focusing directly on him - more on a point over his left ear.

"I heard everything from you saying you'd gone across the valley," Ben admitted, letting his gaze fall again. "I shouldn't have listened to as much as I did - I was just surprised. Please forgive me."

There wasn't anything after that. Nothing but heavy breathing as Mal tried to keep from exploding at him and his heartbeat hammering in both his chest and his skull. Finally, Evie broke the silence by crossing to a post and picking up a ladle from where it hung. "There," She declared. "You may go now."

Ben put one foot behind him and then his gaze shot up to see Mal had turned away, towards the West. "Can I talk to you?" The words spilled out of his chest like he was throwing them up. "Please?"

Mal turned and looked over her shoulder to make sure she knew who he was talking to. Evie tensed up as she looked back and forth in between them. Then Mal inclined her head and Evie exhaled as she took a few shaky steps towards the opening of the tent flap. ben stopped her and replaced the ladle in her hands. "Can you take that to Uma for me?" He requested. "I promise I'll be back out to help her soon."

Evie nodded hastily and then practically tripped out into the open. Ben took a breath and turned to Mal. She ignored him, facing away again, and then sat down on a crate, where she began tightening her shoelaces. Ben approached her softly until he was standing behind her. He couldn't tell if she had heard him approach or not, but either way, she jumped when he began to speak. "I'm sorry," He apologized. "I never wanted to hurt you."

Mal didn't answer. She yanked the laces on her boots tight against her skin and Ben felt a lump arise as he observed the curve of her calf into her ankles. "Uma and Jay and Carlos told me that I had to be careful… had to make sure you knew what sort of commitments I had because they didn't want you hurting more in the long run. I didn't realize… I thought… I hoped that whatever was going on in my head, it was all me, but-"

"Going on in your head?" Mal interrupted, turning to furrow her brow at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I meant…" Ben stammered. "Just… there were these glances and I could always feel your eyes on me, and…" He trailed off, awkwardly.

"You like me?" Mal asked, squinting a little. She sounded bewildered by the concept. It was as if someone had informed her that all of the villain kids were to be invited to Auradon or if he'd announced it was time to take the barrier down.

"I can't love you," Ben blurted out. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I have a wife and a daughter - they depend on me. You're amazing; I hope you know that, but I made a commitment to Audrey, and I can't break that."

"Audrey," Mal repeated in a soft tone. Ben cast his eyes to her feet again. "Is she a princess?"

Ben swallowed. He really, really didn't want to tell her, but he didn't want to lie either. "She's Aurora's daughter," He admitted, flinching internally at how backward this all was. "You know, uh, Sleeping-"

"Beauty," Mal cut him off, spinning away with a hot, hard look in her eyes. "I've heard the name."

"I know how that must seem to you," Ben began slowly. "She's not like Stefan, though. I mean, she's close to her grandmother, but she's not a bad person. She just… likes lots of things and people and yeah." He stopped himself as he started to babble. Even though Mal was mostly turned away from him, he could see her face twist in confusion.

"And you love her?" Mal asked softly.

"Yes," Ben agreed, though the words sounded hollow on his tongue. "I do. Her and my daughter."

Mal nodded softly as if that made sense. She took a small breath. It almost sounded as if she wanted to cry, but Ben doubted Mal would ever. He sat down beside her and put a hand on her back. "Will you be alright?" He whispered.

Mal nodded. "Yes," she affirmed. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

Ben tilted his head down. "Because I know you felt… whatever it was too."

"It wasn't anything," Mal shook her head. "It was foolishness. All primal bull crap." She brushed his hand away. "Love is a lie, anyhow, but it's a beautiful one. That's why people buy into it."

Ben raised an eyebrow at her as she stood up and brushed herself off. She turned to face him, crossing her arms as she did. And this answer gave Ben the truth. "Did you… fall in love with me?" He asked in a hollow tone. Part of him was devastated, but the other… amazed. Audrey had never fallen in love with him. They had just fallen together as if they were fated. This whatever-it-was was so much more powerful than anything he'd ever experienced with her.

"Of course not!" Mal snapped. Her eyes lit up with deadly fire as she balled her fists against her sides. "How dare you imply such a thing!"

Ben blinked slowly. "You thought I implied it."

There was a loud echo of something smacking against something else in the teepee, like a brief clap of thunder. Ben hadn't realized she'd hit him until he caught the glare in her eyes and then briefly felt the sting begin in his cheek. He put a hand up to the wound with a small frown, but it didn't hurt as much as what he was going through internally. "That wasn't very nice," He reprimanded.

Mal looked confused. "It wasn't supposed to be," She furrowed her brow.

Ben tilted her head. "Then why did you do it?" He asked.

Mal looked down at her hand for a second as if it had done something she couldn't explain. Then she looked back at him. "It doesn't matter," She spat. "I know now. You don't have to worry about leading me on and anyways, you weren't in the first place."

She tried to storm past him, but Ben seized her hand. Mal tried to yank it away, but Ben quickly tugged her forward before she could wrench away. "Did you hit me thinking I would stay away after that?" Ben asked, scoffing a little. "Listen, if you want me to stay away, fine, but this isn't the Isle of the Lost. And you're hurting - you don't have to slap me to get that out."

"I don't have to-" Mal sputtered, and ceased fighting with him. She slumped a little, bowing her head and looking frazzled. "I know this isn't the Isle, Ben. But… I hit you. It's over. You hate me now; that's how these things work!"

"You don't think Audrey has hurt me before?" Ben deadpanned. "Or that Harry has hurt Uma before or that you've hurt Evie, Jay, and Carlos? We don't just leave people behind, Mal."

Mal kept her head bowed, staring at the ground as she took long, slow, deep breaths. "I'm sorry," She apologized. "Is that what you want from me?"

Ben released her hands and she withdrew them to herself like she was guarding her heart against something. He put his hands in his pockets. "I'm sorry," He whispered. "I wish I could make things better for you."

Mal shook her head and exhaled. "Please…" her voice broke a little. "Please, just… let me be alone."

Ben took five immediate steps back before he turned and headed towards the door. There was a time to grab her wrists and keep her from marching out and there was another to obey and depart in peace.

He returned to the fires and Gil whistled upon seeing his cheek. "Man, who hit you?" He called, a little too loud. A few people glanced his way, looking confused. Ben waved them all off.

"No one," he assured Gil as he sat down, pointedly ignoring Uma's piercing gaze.

He worked alone for several seconds and then a shadow fell over the table. He looked up right as someone tossed a cool, wet bundle to him before turning on their heel and walking away. It was Mal, that he knew alone from the purple and the feeling that his body had caught fire, but if he hadn't have had any other hints he would have assumed it was Evie or Uma because Mal wasn't exactly the person to toss a wet cloth his way for his face. He picked it up and discovered a bit of frost on the outside. He unwrapped a portion of it - there was ice inside? Where had she gotten ice?

It must be magic.

He felt even worse as he pressed the bundle to his cheek and continued working.

* * *

The first real alarm the caravan had had since Ben had been accepted as an equal came as they passed the halfway mark between Arendelle and Cinderellasburg. Ben had been sitting with Evie, watching as she sewed the outsides of a shirt together when someone gave a shout of panic and he became aware of dozens of people snatching up spears and bows and rushing to the north side of the camp. He stood up and immediately saw what the chaos was - someone in pink and orange had appeared on the side of the field they were pausing in. Ben started to dash over, weaponless, and almost toppled over Mal, who had apparently had the same idea but from a different direction. She shoved him a little as she struggled back to her feet but Ben seized her arm. "We can't let them kill them!" He declared urgently.

Mal nodded, and then somehow they were running side-by-side towards the commotion. As they got closer though, it became clear that it wasn't exactly turning into a massacre. Instead, it was turning into… a battle?

The figure in pink whirled around, wielding a sword with steady expertise. Their face was mostly covered, but the long hair was a giveaway to who it was.

"Lonnie?" Ben gasped upon nearing the circle she was defending herself from. Everyone paused and exchanged glances as the girl stopped, spotted Ben, and pulled off her face covering.

"Ben?" She asked, equally confused.

Mal nudged him. "You know her?" She demanded.

"Yeah. She was an old friend from school," Ben supplied. "I haven't seen her in a few years, though."

Lonnie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, not since Audrey went ballistic the last time." She stepped forward, keeping a hand on her sword. "What are you doing out here? Does she know you're gone? How'd you convince her to let you go out to the middle of nowhere with a bunch of girls involved?" Lonnie scanned up and down Mal's frame, looking startled.

Mal glanced between Ben and Lonnie, squinting more and more as Ben's cheeks and ears turned red. He shrugged awkwardly. "I, uh, she might know by now?" he suggested slowly. "What are you doing here?"

Lonnie turned back to the woods and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Hey, guys!" She called. "Come on out! It's Ben!"

Mal leaned to the far right to watch as two other figures stumbled out of the trees. One was a tall boy with sandy blonde hair. The other had long, dark, curly hair and a blue hiking outfit. Ben felt his entire expression light up. "Doug!" He exclaimed. "Jane!"

"Who are these people?" Mal asked.

"Old friends," Ben smiled. He presented them to each other as Doug and Jane came closer. "Mal, this is Lonnie, Mulan's daughter, Doug, the son of Dopey, and Jane, Fairy Godmother's daughter. Lonnie, Jane, Doug, this is Mal. She's the daughter of Maleficent."

Doug let out a squeak and Jane's face went white. Lonnie raised up her sword in panic and with a brisk movement, shoved Ben away from Mal and behind her. "Why is she here?" Lonnie demanded. "How long has she been holding you?"

"Don't you think I would have called for help if I needed it?" Ben asked, annoyed. He pressed on Lonnie's hand to lower her blade down and returned to Mal's side. "Listen, Mal is one of the leaders around here and she commands everyone who holds weapons. I'm sure that if you ask very nicely, she'll tell everyone to quit aiming their arrows and brandishing their other weapons at you."

Mal looked like she would much rather tie them up and leave them somewhere like she'd left Ben. She glared at Lonnie's sword suspiciously. Ben nudged her, then gave Lonnie a pointed look. Lonnie carefully sheathed her sword, looking confused and cautious, and then cleared her throat. "Can you guys, uh, lower your weapons?"

Mal pressed her lips together and then gave a single nod. Everyone dropped their weapons. Lonnie looked amazed. Ben beamed at Mal and then made a gesture back to camp. "Go on, everyone. These guys are friends. You don't need to worry." He turned to Lonnie, Jane, and Doug. "Come on, guys. I'm going to introduce you to the other leaders. There's Uma, she's the daughter of Ursula, and Evie, she's the daughter of the Evil Queen. They're both super nice."

Mal stopped Ben before he could begin to lead them back. "Ah!" She snapped, sounding miffed. "I get the sword. She can have it back when she leaves."

Lonnie seized the hilt of the sword in panic. "This was my mother's. I'm not leaving it behind with a stranger."

"I'll take it," Ben offered. He held a hand out for the sword and then took a glance at Mal. "Unless you still don't trust me to take off with them?"

Mal clenched her teeth together. Ben tried hard to fight a smile as Lonnie slowly handed the blade over to Ben. Ben took it but kept a hand outstretched. "Knives too, Lonnie," he laughed. Lonnie begrudgingly removed two daggers and handed them to Ben.

"So, you know them?" Jane asked as they began their trek back to where Ben had left.

Ben nodded. "Yeah. They picked me up back in Charmington and I'm helping them relocate." As they passed back into camp, a little kid came up and took Ben's hand. Ben smiled and swung their arms back and forth as they continued walking. Mal took the knives from where Ben had tucked them under his arm as they went.

"How long have you been here?" Doug asked.

"Umm…" Ben tried to think back. He felt like he'd been here his whole life. "I think about a month."

"You've been our friend for twenty-eight days," the little kid babbled as they jumped over a tiny puddle in the ground. "And tomorrow it'll be twenty-nine."

"So yeah, a month," Ben nodded and then pulled the little kid's arm to help him leap over a puddle. "Has the palace said anything yet about me going missing?"

"No," Doug shook his head. "No. No one has any idea that you're gone."

"Wait," Mal blurted out. "The King went missing and no one knows?"

Lonnie shrugged. "Maybe they're trying to keep it on the down-low?"

"No," Ben shook his head. "You need the Queen's signatures to get anything done in the king's absence. That just means Audrey doesn't know I'm gone yet."

"How can she not know you're gone?" Jane asked, furrowing her brow. "Wouldn't they have told her?"

"Well, they might have tried, but she's queen. If she doesn't want people to talk to her, she won't be bothered," Ben let the little kid's hand go with a bright smile. He pushed his hands through his hair. "I know you guys think she's clingy, but she honestly has been pretty distant and lax since Belle was born."

"Because you have no friends that want to deal with her when they come over?" Lonnie asked with a snort.

"No," Ben protested. "No, just because she didn't have the energy anymore."

"Oh, please, Ben," Lonnie sighed dramatically. "The woman is vile and lazy and you know it, but you won't talk bad about anyone."

"That's Evie," Mal pointed ahead to where Evie was standing beside a cart, looking concerned. Doug let out a little gasping sound. "She's going to help me decide whether or not we want you tied up or not." She set a hand on Ben's arm and gave him a confused, worried look.

"What?" Ben asked, pausing as the other three carefully walked up to Evie. Lonnie shook her hand with a smile and a "Wow, your hair is amazing!"

"Is all that true?" Mal asked softly, staring at Ben as if she was trying to see through his soul.

"Is what all true?" Ben asked.

"Ben," Evie called. "Who is this?"

Ben had to leave to introduce everyone, but Mal stayed hovering by the cart, watching as people passed by and examining him from a distance. Her mouth has twisted into a deep frown.

It took a while to catch everyone up - how he had been captured and what they were doing and who these people were and what they were doing. It turned out that they were a lot closer to Charmington than Ben had anticipated and Lonnie had seen them from the road. It wasn't a problem, per see, but Evie, Uma, and Mal quickly decided to move onwards.

Night was falling, and the three were invited to stay for dinner. Ben usually ate with the kids and they all told jokes and silly stories, but Lonnie sat down beside him and he knew he was about to be interrogated.

"So," she began, biting into an orange with a furrowed brow. "Audrey doesn't know you're here. She's gonna pissed that you're working with three girls without her knowing."

Ben shrugged a little. "I might just focus on Uma," he mumbled. "She's committed. Maybe if I focus on her and Harry, the explosion won't be so bad." Then, he shrugged and took a bite of his food. "But if she doesn't ask then that's that."

Lonnie rolled her eyes. "Ben, when was the last time you talked with someone? Like friends? Someone not a servant or Audrey or Belle? And not for work."

Ben didn't answer. He could feel fire creeping into his veins though. A tell-tale sign someone was eavesdropping. Lonnie snorted when he remained silent and then got to her feet. "You can sugar-coat it all you want, but she's ruined your life, Ben."

Ben bit his cheek as she walked away. That wasn't true, he thought. It wasn't all Audrey's fault.

The icy-fire wasn't leaving his skin as he continued eating. Ben sighed and rolled his eyes. He kicked the chair Lonnie had vacated and nodded his head at it. "Come on," he invited. "I know you've got questions."

It took a few seconds, but slowly the purple-haired fairy moved from wherever she'd been to stand behind him. After a long pause, she finally dropped into the chair. Ben broke his roll apart. Uma had been experimenting with Mal's magic on food and they had discovered a wonderful multiplying spell that they could use on the non-perishable stuff. Suddenly, there was an abundance of flour, sugar, salt, and other base ingredients.

"That girl is interesting," Mal began blandly.

"Lonnie?' Ben questioned. "Yeah. She and I were good friends back in high school. She never liked Audrey much."

"Any reason why?"

"Audrey's a bit delicate. Not a very active person."

"That's a lovely cover-story, Ben. Now, what's the real reason?"

Ben picked at his plate a little and then set it down at his feet. "Audrey gets jealous. And defensive. She doesn't like me hanging around with other people much. Even for work."

"You?" Mal squinted at him and twined her fingers together. "But you love being around people."

"I don't much anymore," Ben nodded. "She, uh, used to get all… well, I mean…" He huffed a little. There wasn't really another way to describe what Audrey had done. "She used to threaten the people I'd hang out with. And she'd hire people to follow me around if she wasn't invited. She was kind of obsessed during our early dating years. Lonnie got threatened, and so did her parents. That's why she doesn't like her much."

"That's sadistic," Mal declared. "And that's coming from a villain kid."

Ben snorted. Her humor somehow pushed through a barrier in his head, and he found himself spilling out a few more secrets. Things he'd tried to brush under a rug in his head so he wouldn't have to look at them. "She once had a fit when I took my mom out to lunch. And when I turned twenty-one, the very first thing she wanted me to do was to get a tattoo of her name."

"Did you?" Mal asked.

Ben shook his head with a little snort. "No. I'm not one for needles. She didn't speak to me for a week after I said no." He straightened up. 'But she's not like that anymore. Ever since she had Belle, things have been different."

"Ah yes, she's become the wife that hasn't realized you're gone after a month," Mal snorted, eyeing him suspiciously. "What's up with that?"

Ben picked up a stick from off the ground nearby and snapped it in half. He began picking all the bark off of it, debating how much he should tell her. "We live separate," He admitted. "She has her area of the castle and I have mine."

"But you still love her?" Mal asked, spitting out the word 'love'.

"Of course I do," Ben affirmed.

"No. Say it," Mal pinched her lips together. "You always make it out to be about duty or you brush the question off. Tell me you love her. Not just because you promised you would or just nod and pretends that's the same thing."

Ben opened his mouth. He could feel the words on the tip of his tongue, but somehow they wouldn't come out. 'I love Audrey', he wanted to assure Mal. 'But I don't', his heart protested.

He closed his mouth. "Do you want to know the truth, then?" He asked softly. "Because I haven't seen Audrey in two months now and she didn't even look at me the last time I went to see her. When she first came to live in the castle, she had half of it redecorated, including our bedroom, and told me where I was and wasn't allowed to go. Then, when she was six months pregnant with Belle, she asked me to sleep in another room. In my own castle, I'm only allowed outside, in my office, in the guest areas and my own bedroom. I have to set up appointments to see her."

He could see the varying shades of bafflement crossing Mal's face, and he didn't blame her. His life felt like a soap opera whenever he thought about it too much. He shook his head and tossed little splinters of bark to the ground before continuing.

"I used to have lots of friends and be pretty popular, but things… fell apart. She doesn't want me around my own parents, taking meetings, playing with little kids, and every once in a while even gets upset if I take Belle somewhere. I tried to consolidate her at first, but that obviously worked really well. Most of my old friends won't hang out with me because of things she's said and done.

"Belle is almost exactly the same as her, and it's really irking me, but if I discipline her too much, then Audrey gets mad at me. The girl is just… she's so spoiled! And she doesn't like anything. No water, no fresh air, no hot or cold. She's always cross and begging for candy and goodness knows I love her because she's mine but then she's not really… mine."

"Why on the Isle are you still with this woman?" Mal asked, shaking her head as if it were spinning. "She's a monster."

"No," Ben disagreed. "No. No, she's not. And… she was just everything I thought I was supposed to have. She was royal, pink, pretty outgoing and popular when we were teens and yeah, she was pretty… and we'd known each other since we were kids. I was hoping I'd fall in love with her."

"Isn't this supposed to be the land of true love?" Mal demanded, rising to her feet. "Of dreams-come-true and happy-ever-after?"

Ben stared at the ground, digging his toes in a little. "Of course," He nodded. "But sometimes… we look in the wrong places for love." He glanced up at Mal through his eyelashes.

"In the wrong places?" Mal repeated as if she couldn't believe what had just come out of his mouth. Ben sighed and buried his face in his hands.

"I… don't really want to talk about it," He admitted. "I still have to go back eventually. Maybe after all of this… I might try and make changes. Tell her she can't spend all day in that stupid spa and make Belle behave and maybe I'll even pull them out of the palace. If Audrey gets mad… she can just leave me." He shook his head. Part of him honestly wouldn't mind if she left. It'd probably be good for her to not have him allowing whatever atrocious behavior she wanted to put on.

If she left, would he come back here? To Mal?

He glanced up at the purple-haired family and shook his head. "I know this probably all sounds trivial to you. I mean, I haven't heard much about the island, but I've heard some things, and…" He trailed off, shaking his head. "I'm sorry.

Mal tilted her head to the side. "Yeah," She agreed softly. "It was hard, but you've been through lots too. All of that… it stinks." Ben shrugged, and Mal sat back down beside him, slowly. "And I understand…. what it's like to hope someone will love you back."

Ben found himself immediately getting to his feet. "Mal, I can't love y-"

"I wasn't talking about you," Mal snapped, pushing her hands through her hair and turning her face away from him. "I could stand to care less about you. My mother, Ben. Maleficent."

Ben slowly retook his seat. Mal looked like she was being… wracked with pain. Her hands shook as she took several long, deep breaths. "I… always wanted her to be proud of me. To love me back. And so I kind of understand why you would have kept at it for so long with Audrey. I mean, I may be wrong, but…" Her mouth twisted into a bitter line as she bit her lip. Her eyes squeezed shut, but he could still see green light ebbing out under her lids. She ran a hand from her forehead, down through her hair, and then latched onto her shoulder as she kept focusing on her breathing. Ben pulled his chair closer, so her knees were touching, and then tugged down the zipper on his jacket. It was his favorite blue one, but he still pulled it off his shoulders and then swept it over hers. Mal closed her eyes a little as she took deep, steady inhales.

"I guess you guys have it pretty rough on the Isle," He sympathized.

Mal nodded. "We weren't exactly running from comfort, Ben," She snorted. She rubbed her sweating, trembling hands down her knees and then clutched a little at the zippers on his jacket to pull them closer. "My mother… she demanded a lot. I had to live up to her standard of evil, but it wasn't like I could curse everyone. And you may have noticed I'm small and not exactly intimidating. So I had to learn to be vicious instead. There's a lot of things… in the back of my head… I don't even want to think about it with you or the other Auradon kids around because they're not exactly things to be proud of. At the time I wasn't really focusing on the people I was hurting. Every single thing I did, I was always looking over my shoulder to see if I'd finally done the thing to make her proud. I was chasing something impossible."

Ben hummed in understanding. "What sorts of things?" He asked. Not because he particularly wanted to embarrass her or make her uncomfortable. Not so he knew what he was getting into, being friends with her. And not so he could have her prosecuted, certainly. If anything, it was because he was curious to see… how far her trust would stretch.

Mal looked back up at him and examined his gaze. "Murder," She whispered. Ben didn't let the surprise and momentarily disgust enter his gaze. She raised an eyebrow.

"I was expecting that to be relatively near the top," he shrugged.

"Ouch," Mal snorted hollowly.

Ben gave her an exasperated look. "You know I didn't mean it like that," He reprimanded her.

"I'm not your daughter," Mal deadpanned, sounding empty through the sarcasm. "Don't take that tone of voice with me." She rubbed her brow before continuing. "Dismemberment. I set places and possessions and people on fire. If my mom had someone brought into Dragon Hall, it was my job to, well, get creative as I killed them. Snuck poisons into kid's lunches at school. Fought brutally so no one would question me or come after me. People were afraid. None of the villains my mom worked with ever talked back to me and my teachers never complained about all the school I missed or whatnot. People got out of the way when I walked by." Mal gestured around them with her mouth pressed into a thin line. "They still do," She sighed.

"So what changed?" Ben asked, running a hand down his chin and glancing over to where Evie, Jay, and Carlos were talking with the newcomers avidly.

Mal blinked. Her gaze became distant as if she was looking into another time, and then she reached down and began fiddling with her boot strings again. "My mother," She admitted. "I realized that I couldn't make her proud - ever. Even if I destroyed the entire world and killed every person alive, it never would have been enough for her. She just… doesn't have the ability to love me because…" She bit her lip and then shook her head.

"You don't want to tell me?" Ben asked.

"Well, I didn't, but now that you've asked I feel like I have to," Mal chuckled without humor. Ben knocked his knee against hers lightly, and she sighed. "It was because she was like everyone else. She couldn't ever love me because she was just as terrified as everyone else. Terrified of what she'd created. She thought that so long as I kept chasing after her love, she'd have me under her control, and that was why she never gave me anything back. But I kept getting scarier, and I didn't realize how much I scared her until she broke down one night when I corrected her on something. That was when I realized."

"So, let me get this straight," Ben clapped his hands together. Mal flinched at the loud sound. "You're telling me that Mal - Mal Bertha - Pixie Mal who can't read and who is scared of thunder-"

"I am not scared of thunder!" Mal snapped, glaring at him.

"-Who held the barrier open for kids to escape and who thinks rain is magical and who refuses to swallow her pride and help Uma out with anything, that Mal terrified Maleficent into a breakdown? Maleficent, Mistress of all Evil?" Ben leaned back into his seat, smiling despite the formerly heavy mood. "I don't buy it."

"I drank blood!" Mal snapped, though a grin stretched at her mouth too. "I burned people alive with my gaze alone - through the barrier! Gaston ran from me! How dare you doubt me!"

"I think you must be talking about someone else," Ben snorted, though his stomach twisted with the extra details. "That sounds more like something Uma would do. Are you sure you're not trying to steal her thunder?"

"Oh, wow, Uma would fish in the poisonous lake and eat the fish raw. I literally ate a piece of a man's throat after ripping it off with my teeth. It never even touched my hands," Mal scoffed, crossing her arms.

"You're too small and cute for such a vicious act," Ben waved her off. "You're practically a little kid. Let me know if you need help reaching the top shelf for your sippy cup."

Someone burst into crazed laughter behind Mal and her face bloomed bright red as she turned and watched Harry Hook hit the ground, heaving for breath. Across the way, Evie, Jay, and Carlos looked incredibly surprised while Doug, Jane, and Lonnie's expressions held a mix of fear, disgust, and shock. Ben hadn't realized how loud they had been getting.

Mal turned back around, looking sheepish, and whispered: "I can't believe you got me to admit all that out loud in front of you." She covered her hands with her face. "God, you must be disgusted. I'm so sorry."

"Well, I don't exactly want morbid details," Ben sighed, "But it's in the past. And hey, I'm proud of you for talking."

"If Auradon knew I was ever in your presence, they'd want to hunt me down and lynch me," Mal muttered. "If they knew I existed period, then-"

"I'd like to bring you to Auradon one day," Ben interrupted. Mal was so surprised she almost fell out of her chair. "When I get home… I want to fix things. Clean up the Isle so that any new kids who are born there don't rot for another twenty years. Take better censuses and lock villains away in cells who are at the head of the killing. I could use someone who knows what they're doing on the Isle to tell me where to start."

Mal snorted. "You want to give Auradon a taste of Evil," She pointed to herself, "With me? They'll never let you out of the palace again."

"I'm the king. I can do whatever I want," Ben replied.

"Except go where your wife tells you not to," Mal deadpanned.

Ben rubbed his hands together with pinched lips. "I'm going to try and patch things up there, too. I think I just went… numb to everything bad. Being out here… I like people. I like hard work. I like little kids who want to cuddle and rain and feeling like I have a purpose. So when I have to go home… I'm not going to let things be the way they were."

Mal nodded slowly. "I hope you do," She whispered. "But, uh, be careful. You might go back and get busy and become… complacent again."

"I doubt it. Especially if I have a spunky someone to remind me of the type of king I promised to be," He bumped Mal's knee again. "You could come back and be part of the solution."

"Me?" Mal asked, wide-eyed and regretful. "Part of your solution? You really think I could survive in a place filled to the brim with prissy pink princesses?" She shook her head. "I'm not one of those ladies of the Court, Ben. I'd be a big fake or a big menace. And besides," She nodded to the camp around them. "They need me here. I'm their big defense. Everything I've done and everything I can do… I could fend off entire armies and no one else would have to lift a finger. I can't leave them that unprotected."

"No one will attack you, Mal," Ben put a hand on her wrist. "And if you worry, I could send in an army from the kingdom to protect you. I know there's no way I can convince you that they won't turn on you, but… you could leave whenever. Trust me when I say Auradon has little to no clue how to imprison a dragon. You could fly back and forth."

Mal took her hand away from his. A tiny blush had bloomed into her cheeks. "Thank you for the offer," she began, "But given the recent… circumstances between us, I think it's best that I don't go anywhere Audrey could meet me. If she can't stand Lonnie, who was holding her own against my soldiers pretty darn well, then there's no way she'll stand me, the daughter of her mom's enemy."

Ben's mouth closed. Unfortunately, there was no way he could argue with that. He sighed, leaning back into his chair, defeated. Mal twiddled her thumbs slowly. "I hope…" she began in a tone not far off from a snail's pace. "That you do get things patched up with Audrey. Maybe I can visit then, one day."

"When you're over me?" Ben asked softly. Mal pinched her lips at him and growled.

"I am over you," She snapped. "I was never hung up on you to begin with. It was all nonsense."

Ben shook his head. "It amazes me," he sighed, "How easily you deny things. Your first instinct is to snap, and then apologize. Don't you remember that I was there?"

Mal scoffed and pulled his jacket back off her. She dropped it in his lap and then stood and stretched. "I'm beat," She announced. "Evil dreams, Ben. I hope you're ready to move out tomorrow."

"You mean you're going to go sit on top of Evie's cart and strike fear into the hearts of all who pass," Ben sighed, rolling his eyes and then pulling his jacket back on. "I'm very impressed with your avoidance skills. Well, goodnight Pixie."

"You do not have permission to call me that," Mal glared. Ben snorted and closed his eyes. He listened to her trek off, but could still feel eyes on him. Human eyes - eyes that weren't enchanted or enhanced. He peeked out and glanced over to where Evie, Jay, Carlos, Doug, Lonnie, Jane, Uma, and Harry were all glancing over, lips mouthing as they examined him. They probably couldn't tell he was squinting through his lashes from here. But it didn't matter.


	7. Drunk

**This was inspired by Xez2003's The Black Arrow; A Tale of Two Kingdoms. I do not own Disney Descendants.**

"So, you're really okay to stay here?" Jane asked uncertainly the next morning. Everyone was packing up around her and Ben was lifting teepee poles into Mal's cart. His shirt was rolled up, showing the extra muscles he'd gained the last month, and he was sweating his own personal downpour.

"Yeah, I am," Ben smiled, reaching for more poles to load up. "I'm going to take them to the unused lands over there, help them set up, and then I'll be back in the palace to give them an official status."

Jane chewed on her cheek. "Will you be bringing back anyone?" She asked.

"I asked Mal if she'd want to come and help me in Auradon," Ben sighed, grunting a little as he wrestled a pole against a rough edge. "But she doesn't want to leave."

"Audrey wouldn't like that," Jane mumbled, going quieter near the end of her sentence. She looked at Ben with big, wide doe eyes. "Are you cheating on Audrey?"

"No," Ben replied flatly. "And if Jay or Carlos or anyone said I was, they're lying. The reason I talk with Mal more is because she was the person to bring me into this. There is nothing else and will be nothing else."

"Well, no one said you were cheating," Jane explained uncertainly, "But Carlos told me that you guys were into each other and that she was devastated to learn about Audrey, and then Harry and Uma have a bet going-"

Ben slammed the last of the poles into the cart in a fit of rage. "Uma and Harry? Really?" He snapped and shook his head. "No, no, we're not. And the reason Mal was angry is because it was Sleeping Beauty's daughter." He kicked at one of the canvases to spread it out more and then knelt down to begin rolling it up. "Whatever. I actually do want to stay out here, Jane, and I promised I would help them anyways. It's been really great - I love the fresh air and all the things I get to do around here. And the kids are fabulous - I wish I could take them all home with me."

"We could arrange that!" Someone yelled, walking up to him. It was Uma, and she was wearing a blue bandanna with a bright blue outfit. "I'm sure they'd love to spend their days up at the palace with whatever you've got up there."

"I'm not sure my wife would be open to that right off the bat," Ben frowned. "But I'm going to be making some changes to our family, so we'll see how things go."

"Bringing in the homewrecker?" Uma asked, leaning against Mal's cart. Ben glared at her.

"No," He snapped, "And by the way, I don't appreciate you and Harry betting on us." He leaned against the cart to stare her in the eyes.

"Eh," Uma shrugged. 'There was a reason we didn't tell you." She reached up and pulled her bandana out, looking exasperated. Then, she began fishing for pins in her blue hair, trying to let it down. "Hey, listen, Gil is having trouble with the canopy Carlos made. Carlos is busy, but I know you kinda oversee everything now, so I was wondering if you know how to take the thing down?"

"I don't oversee everything," Ben rolled his eyes. "But yeah, I do know how to take the canopy down. It's pretty cool how many new things they've made since I first got here."

"Just wait," Uma laughed. "We can't wait to start putting down permanent houses." She pulled the last of the pins out and her long blue locks fell down over her shoulders and were promptly swept away by a light breeze.

Ben smiled as the sun glinted off her hair. "Your hair looks super clean," He laughed. "Did you wash it last night?"

"Oh," Uma ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah, I did. And now it's all curly." She held a lock up as proof.

Ben extended a hand. "May I?" He asked. Uma extended the lock and he brushed his fingertips down it. "Wow," He commented with an even brighter smile. "Like silk. Good job."

Something flew into the cart with a crash that made Ben, Jane, and Uma jump. Ben spun around to see that three large tents had all been flung in at the same time and that Mal was storming away with smoke rising from her hair. Either someone besides him had set her off and lived, or she was suddenly mad at him. People squawked and jumped out of her way as she stormed away.

"Someone's the jealous type," Uma rolled her eyes. "She and Harry are more alike than they think."

"She and you are more alike than you think," Ben rolled his eyes. "Don't think I don't notice how you get closer to him every time Evie walks by." Uma stuck out her tongue in response. Ben sighed and glanced to where Mal had vanished. "She's gotta help me pull this, so I'll talk her out of her spout then," He decided. "Hopefully everyone stays out of her way until then."

* * *

"What's up with you hurling tents around?" Ben demanded as Mal stalked over to pick up the cart handle with him. She glared at him as she bent down and together, they hefted the cart upright. Jane, Doug, and Lonnie had left to go back to Doug's family home for the last of their vacation and the Islanders were continuing their trek. "Are we playing the silent game?" He asked.

Mal balanced the cart on her leg and pulled her leather gloves out of her pocket without a word. Ben's blue ones were already on. Evie had made dozens for people to protect their hands with as they walked.

"Listen, I have to deal with Audrey getting jealous of me at every turn and she's my wife. It's not exactly fair that you, a close friend, are also offended if I tell Uma her hair is nice," He leaned down to be in her field of vision. "I tell Evie she looks great all the time."

"I know that!" Mal snapped. Steam wafted up from her hair. "And I'm not… why would I be jealous?"

"I like your hair too, Mal," Ben murmured softly. "I like the purple. It suits you and it's pretty."

Mal scoffed and picked up a strand of her hair. She had dirt in it, and she'd been working hard, so it clumped together with sweat. But it was still vibrant purple and beautiful. Just dirty. "My hair's not clean like Uma's is," She mumbled under her breath.

"So wash it?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow. "It's not that big of a deal. I could show you how."

Mal flipped her head to the other side as they began to trek along. Every so often, her hand would come up to brush away at the lock of hair she'd first picked at. Ben watched her every time she did, watching her nails catch in her hair, and about a mile into their hike it suddenly clicked in his head.

"Oh!" He exclaimed, making Mal jump a little. "You're upset because I touched Uma's hair." He raised another eyebrow at her. "That's rich. What's the big deal?"

"It's not a big deal!" Mal's face turned bright red. "And I don't care whose hair you touch. Go touch everyone's hair, for all I care. You don't mean anything to me!"

"Mal," Ben sighed, "Can we skip the part where you hope that I'll believe you because you're yelling your lies and just get to the part where you tell me how I can help?"

Mal stayed stubbornly silent. Ben finally sighed again. "Listen," He began. "Rinse your hair out. Then you can use an egg to get out all the grime. Just rub it in, leave it for a few seconds, and rinse it right out. After that, put a little oil in your hair and comb it around so that when all is said and done your hair feels nice and silky. Audrey does it all the time at home, except she uses shampoo. This book I read talked about different types of things you can use to keep clean in forests and eggs have lots of proteins that are good for your hair."

"I'm blocking you out," Mal grumbled, focusing on the gravel of the road. "Leave me alone, Ben."

"You don't have to act like Audrey when I'm miles away from her," Ben pointed out.

Mal's angered expression faded immediately into guilt. "Sorry," She grumbled. "Thank you for the advice. My mom was never really big on beauty tips, and I never really had a sister or anything."

"That's okay," Ben shrugged. "Audrey… she's a princess at heart. She used to talk my ear off about all this stuff when we were teens. I guess I absorbed some of it."

They went over a bump and Mal's hands slid about six inches into Ben's before she pulled them back to herself. "You don't like her, do you?" She asked.

"We were arranged," Ben said by way of explanation. "There wasn't really another choice." It wasn't really an answer, but it was easily than saying no. Mal liked to yell and scare people into submission, but he liked to avoid the question. Neither of them bought the other's gig.

He laughed a little when he thought of something that might amuse her, and slid one of his hands down to knock against hers. "You know, I never actually proposed," He laughed. "She picked her own ring and mine, and then picked the date and told me to show up."

Mal snorted half-heartedly. "What a rip," She scoffed. There was a brief pause, and then she looked up at him. "So, what, you've just been… faking it since then?"

Ben's expression fell and he gave a little half-shrug. He wanted to try and avoid the comment, pretend it hadn't come up, but something inside of him was tired of lying and avoiding the problem. "I guess," He whispered.

Mal nodded and then focused her gaze ahead. "I kinda wish I hadn't learned about her," She whispered, equally honest. "You're making me think… things."

"Don't," Ben advised. "I don't want you to get hurt."

Mal nodded, and they didn't say another word to each other for the rest of the trip that day.

* * *

The night the passed out of the Arendelian barrier was the most joyous of any night Ben had spent with the company. They left 'Official Auradon' behind around noon and hiked onwards until Evie and Mal discovered a large freshwater spring with small clearings scattered in between large trees, and everyone promptly dropped their supplies in joy. Carts began to be dismantled, and before night arose, there were small skeletons of structures as the Isle folk went to work to build themselves a safe haven.

A large bonfire was created - partially to help clear underbrush, and partially to light up their celebrations. Mal multiplied the honey that Uma had and everyone feasted on roasted vegetables, various types of meat, and bread dripping with honey. She helped unload her cart so people could begin setting up tents, teepees, canopies, and lean-tos, and then vanished. Ben didn't have much time to wonder where she'd gone. He was busy helping everyone all over the camp. Carlos was especially busy as he rushed around, helping people organize themselves and where they would go.

When everything they had was set up and dismantled and organized, the sun was setting, and the celebrations were continuing. Ben played with the group of children, roaring upon request and wrestling and throwing them into the air until, one by one, they tired out and dozed off in the soft grasses or in piles of blankets within teepees. Then, the adults and teens of the camp danced beside the fire, laughing as they celebrated the end of their tedious journey.

Uma handed Ben a drink of something from the Isle as he passed by. He made sure to water it down before he tried it, but the whatever-it-was still made him dizzy after a few minutes and several sips. He dumped it out on a bush and returned the glass to Uma without a word.

Ben had just collapsed onto a bench beside Uma when Evie appeared in front of him and offered him her hand. "Can you dance at all?" She asked. "Any style?"

"Yes," Ben confirmed, getting back to his feet. "I can waltz, I can foxtrot, I can do lots. What were you thinking?"

"I've always wanted to waltz with a prince," Evie confided. "So before we lose you forever, I want to steal that chance."

Ben laughed and let her pull him to a mostly clear area of grass and earth. He put his hand on her waist and took her other before they began to sway around, him leading her as her smile beamed through the darkening night. Ben was a little rusty - he and Audrey hadn't danced in years and he didn't exactly have many reasons to keep up the practice. Still, people paused here and there to watch as he led Evie through presents and turns and steps. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Harry pull Uma into the shadows to try and mirror his movements, and behind her, he could see someone perching on the top of a structure, looking down on all.

He stopped, bowed a little to Evie, and then laughed as she thanked him. Evie was beaming - he didn't think he'd ever seen her so happy. She went to Dizzy, who had clapped a little whenever Ben twirled her older friend around, and together the girls romped off to the bonfire.

Ben slipped into the shadows and went to the base of one of the skeletal structures of dwellings that they'd erected. He looked up at the dark figure up above and laughed a little. She was so high up that her boots scarcely brushed his chin. He debated teasing her, and decided to dive in. They'd been so honest the last few days. "I think you have a height complex," He called.

"I think you seek to justify your presence down there," Mal returned. She leaned down, and somehow, he could see her face even though the darkness. His chest felt tight - she looked lovely. He felt like she was seeing her for the first time all over again. "Did you wash your face?" He asked, choking a little.

Mal shrugged and then jumped down. It was quite a dramatic difference to have the top of her head where her shoes had previously been. Ben took a breath as she leaned against the structure. "Did you need something?" She asked.

"I was wondering if you wanted to dance?" Ben asked, gesturing to where Uma, Harry, and others were stumbling through shaky waltzes with boisterous laughter.

Mal furrowed her brow. "I can't dance," She informed him.

"Can you stand to follow me for a minute or two?" Ben asked, chuckling. "It's just a little circle and maybe a turn here or there."

He offered her his hand. Mal looked down on it. Then she carefully put her hand in his. Her hands were tough and strong.

They went out to a quiet, grassy area, and Ben leaned in to whisper instructions in her ear as he began to lead her in a tiny circle. Her hair smelled nice, he suddenly realized. It was nice and… soft. He paused, released the hand he held in his, and then trailed his fingers down through her hair. She'd washed it. It was soft and floaty and would probably glint in the sunlight tomorrow. Mal tilted her head into his touch.

"Sorry," He apologized, eyes flickering between her hair and her eyes. "Your hair looks really nice."

"It's dark," Mal snorted. "You can't see it."

"I can feel it," Ben mumbled, threading his fingers through her hair a little. "It feels nice." She fidgeted with her hands, unsure what to do with them, and then put them against his chest.

It occurred to him he had one hand on Mal's back and the other twisting through her hair.

"I feel weird," he whispered, trying to find the courage to take his hands back.

"Feel like what?" She asked, equally soft.

"I feel like… like singing your name," Ben admitted, focusing on her eyes. "You just look so… beautiful."

"Don't sing," Mal warned him, eyes growing wider. "We wouldn't want anyone to go deaf."

"I'll have you know I can sing rather well," Ben frowned. He took his hands back and they retook their waltz stance. As they started dancing through their small clearing, Ben started singing under his breath. "I met this girl that rocked my world like it's never been rocked and now I'm livin' just for her and I won't ever stop. I gotta know which way to go, c'mon, give me a sign. You've gotta show me that you're only ever gonna be mine. Don't wanna go another minute livin' without you, cause if your heart just isn't in it, I don't know what I'll do."

"What song is that?" Mal asked, smirking a little and blinking slowly.

Ben's mouth went a little dry. "I, uh, don't know. I kinda just made it up on the spot."

Mal stopped spinning in his arms and withdrew a little. "Interesting lyrics," She mumbled. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah," Ben nodded. "I'm just a little… overcomplexified."

"That's not a word," Mal immediately reprimanded him. She ruffled a hand through his hair briefly. "But I'll forgive you because you're cute."

Ben couldn't remember the last time he had felt this dizzy. He put a hand to his forehead and then Mal started to automatically lead him to the bench he'd previously vacated. "Do you know what Uma was giving out?" He asked, stumbling over the hard consonants as he said them.

"No," Mal shook her head. "It tasted a little like fisherman's alcohol, but I can't be sure. It's been a while since I had any."

"How strong is it?" Ben moaned.

"You'll feel it in the morning," Mal assured him. Ben groaned and ran his hands through his hair. Mal kept her eyes on him. "I guess that was kind of obvious though, huh?" She suddenly broke out into giggles. "Hey… You can be King Obviously Cute!"

"That is my legal name," Ben smiled, leaning his head against his hand as he watched her laugh. "What should we call you, Queenie?"

Mal laughed some more and then leaned forward into his chest. She was pretty shaky too. He wondered how he hadn't noticed it when they were dancing. Ben started playing with her hair. "I like your hair like this," He whispered. "I like clean and soft things."

"I like you like this," Mal slurred, closing her eyes against the harsh lights of the fire and keeping close to his chest. "It's easier to forget you're not married when the world is like this."

"I think you're drunk," Ben announced. "I think I'm drunk too. I think we should probably leave each other so we can both talk like normal people tomorrow."

"Why do we need to leave?" Mal huffed. "I like how warm you are." She balled her fists up into his shirt and Ben had this sinking feeling in the back of his mind that told him this wasn't going to end well.

"Because I don't want to cheat on Audrey," he told her, taking her hands off the fabric. "I promised I'd love her."

"But that doesn't technically count," Mal yawned. "Because you don't. And either way, you promised to love her so long as she loves you. That's what Evie told me about the vows Auradon uses. She doesn't love you like we do here."

"We?" Ben repeated, squeezing her hand.

Mal looked up and he saw desire and curiosity and everything he'd never seen in Audrey's eyes looking back at him from hers. She squeezed his hand back. He tilted his head. "You're right," He conceded. "I don't love her. I don't like weak girls."

Mal chuckled this tiny little chuckle that made her seem like the most irresistible person on the planet. "Want to hear my theory?" She whispered, sounding surprisingly coherent. "I don't think you ever got over me. I don't think you can, and I think you know why."

"That's true," Ben mumbled. "What about you? Do you think we're in love?"

"I don't know what love feels like!" Mal laughed, sudden and boisterous and throwing him off his game. "How would I know?"

"I don't know either," Ben mumbled. Her breath smelled like she'd been chewing on a mint plant. When had he gotten this close?

Mal was suddenly closing her eyes. The bonfire had started to die, so it was dark. It was dark and her skin was tough and her hair was soft and her eyes were green and her breath was minty and she was dangerous to everyone except him. It was late and he was drunk and she was too but her hands were slipping up inside his shirt and his were pulling at her waistband and he already know they were going to go way too far tonight but he couldn't do anything to stop it. She was pale and she was purple and she let out a little sigh that ghosted past her lips and onto his before he brushed his lips against hers and felt his brain explode with colors and sound and lights. His heart swelled up in his chest.

"Wow," Mal whispered against his lips; a tickle that lit a fire inside of him that had his hands slipping down even further.

And to be honest, he didn't remember much after that.

* * *

When he woke up, everything hurt. His arms, legs, head and everything. And it was cold.

Ben sat up, rubbing the last of the sleep out of his eyes. He was lying on a patch of grass with a little river running in front of his feet. Tall trees made the light cast odd patches of light on him and a collection of large, leafy plants surrounded him. He could see the place where he'd obviously come through. Beside a little trail he'd beaten down to reach this area, his shoes and socks were thrown haphazardly to the bushes. Everything else was mixed up in a heap that was luckily away from the river.

He looked down at himself, slowly connecting the dots. Metaphysically and literally. He traced bite marks up and down his arms, across his collarbone and down his chest. His shirt would cover them all. He pressed his fingers to his mouth, but it only felt sore, not swollen.

Ben closed his eyes as a deep pain set into his head. He couldn't tell if it was the effects of the hangover, or the realization that he'd caved with Mal.

And speaking of Mal…

Where was she?

Ben struggled back into his clothes and then yanked his shoes and socks back onto his feet. When he was sure he was mostly presentable, he battled his way back through the leafy underbrush, trying to find his way back to camp. He followed the sounds of construction; of loud and boisterous laughter. He wondered if anyone was wondering where he was or if anyone had seen him leave with Mal.

As he reached the others, a tree tipped over and Islanders began sawing off limbs. Large burn piles were being constructed with the excess while the Islanders formed a chain of assembly to quickly build shelters. They worked fast, which was a given since there were so many of them.

"Woah, man!" He heard Gil laugh as the man walked past carrying a large board. "You look wasted. Our alcohol too strong for you?"

"I guess," Ben rubbed his face. His headache had come on stronger now. "What happened last night?"

"I dunno man, I went to bed early," Gil laughed. "But everyone's been wondering where you are. Evie, Mal, and Uma want your help. I think Harry's trying to convince them that you ditched for Auradon to get soldiers, but they think that's a load of crap."

"Yeah," Ben shook his head. "Yeah, I'm still here." He ran his hands through his hair. "I'm not sure how useful I'll be."

"That's okay. Take a day if you need it," Gil recommended. "We all do here and there."

As Gil walked away, Ben felt a weight sink into his stomach. Mal was looking for him? As in she was pretending she didn't know where he was?

He wandered around until he found the three girls with Jay, Carlos, and Harry included. They were gathered under a canopy and talking over blueprints that Carlos had drawn up. They didn't notice him until he ducked under the canopy and Jay called: "Hey, there he is."

Everyone turned and greeted him. Harry looked immensely disappointed to see him, but he didn't say anything. He only sighed and looked downcast. Evie laughed. "You look like you slept on the ground," She chuckled. "Did you wander off?"

"Apparently," Ben grumbled as Uma snorted at his disheveled appearance.

"I guess our drinks were too strong for you," She chuckled. "Sorry, Ben. I didn't think to warn you." Her sympathetic look told him that it hadn't been a prank - she just genuinely didn't think about it.

"I watered it down, but a lot of good that did me," Ben sighed. He glanced over at Mal and was disappointed to see her ignoring him.

She'd fixed herself up so she didn't look like she'd spent a night tangled up beside him. Or maybe she had just left straight afterwards - who knew? Her hair was brushed and she'd changed her outfit and she looked like she'd been awake from hours. If he remembered correctly, she'd been tipsy the previous night too, but she wasn't showing any signs of being hungover right now.

"Gil said you needed my help," Ben began, taking his gaze away from Mal. "I'm not sure how useful I'll be, but I came around to see what was going on anyways."

"Yeah, you're useless," Carlos snorted. "Go get some water and go back to bed, Ben. We'll manage without you for today. Besides, we're not going to have you around for much longer."

He could have sworn it was a hallucination brought on by his dizziness, but he thought he saw Mal dig her nails into her legs.

Ben nodded and then took a seat beside the table. He listened numbly while they finished debating where they wanted to build permanent residencies and occasionally made comments about what he'd be sending from Auradon to help them. They were drawing out a layout based on circles with diamond-shaped places they'd leave trees and foliage. Dividing the region by thirds, Mal's crew would rule one part, then Evie's another, and finally Uma would control the last. It was going to be a beautiful city one day. When everyone was clear on where they wanted to start clearing in preparation for Auradon Supplies to come in, they broke off one by one. Uma and Harry walked off with their arms around each other, down to where they were going to start preparing lunch and dinner. Jay took off to go find Gil and help him out, and then Evie, Carlos, and Mal muttered for a few more seconds before they started to walk away. Ben caught Mal's arm as she started to walk away.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked, trying to keep his gaze soft and coherent. He put a finger down on Mal's sector. "I have some questions," he said, keeping it vague on purpose. He didn't want Carlos and Evie to suspect any more than everyone already did, but he wanted Mal to stay behind.

"N-" Mal began to say but quickly bit her tongue when she realized Evie and Carlos were still there and she couldn't say no to such a simple task without making it seem like she was angry at him for some reason. She bit her lip. "Fine," She agreed begrudgingly, "but make it fast - I want to go start scoping things out. They need someone with magic out there."

She hovered beside the map and Carlos and Evie continued wandering away, towards Evie's sector. Mal leaned over his shoulder. "What are you confused on?" She asked, putting a finger down on the map.

"You left," Ben whispered. "I woke up and you were gone."

Mal's face burned bright red. It was odd to see her face red, her eyes vibrant green, and her hair purple. "Of course," she hissed. "We couldn't have two people looking like you walking from the same direction at the same time."

"Okay, fine. Don't you think we should talk about it though?" Ben asked, staring at her as he spoke. He couldn't deny her words, though he could see in her eyes that she hadn't been thinking of that when she'd left and it was only a convenient cover-up.

"Talk about what?" Mal snapped, withdrawing from him. "There was nothing. Nothing happened. We didn't see each other last night."

"Please tell me we're not doing this," Ben slumped his shoulders. "You don't have to go off like this every time something happens, Mal."

"Well what would you prefer?" Mal snapped. "What would you rather I say? 'Gee, Ben, we should have split up last night when you first suggested it," "I'm really sorry about everything that happened; maybe we should just forget it all.'"

For several seconds, Ben couldn't help but be hurt. As much as it had sucked to wake up alone and with the realization he'd gotten drunk with Mal, it really sucked to hear her say she regretted it all after he'd gotten up the courage to try and talk with her about it.

But then he started thinking about the way she had said it and how her face was twisting up and then somehow everything made sense. He'd pointed out her angry, lying defense, and instead of reverting back to "Mal", she'd started a defense tirade for her defensiveness. Which meant that everything that had just come out of her mouth was a lie.

"You regret nothing," he whispered in realization, and this… emotion lit up her eyes. Something strong and weak and harsh and loud, all at once. She smacked him hard across the face and then was withdrawing even farther. The pain on his face combined with his throbbing headache and numbing shock made everything feel foggy, but he didn't protest. He didn't even make a sound because he felt like he'd finally managed to understand.

She lied so she didn't have to accept the truth.

She hit him because, on the Isle, that was how to keep people away.

She was afraid of losing him and thought it would be better to leave him behind first. That way, it was still in her control.

She was walking backward faster, trying to leave him behind. Something in his eyes must have revealed the truth to her. He knew. He knew her on this metaphysical, spiritual level that she tried to deny she even had. And that emotion - the fear - was so thick in her eyes that it hurt him.

So he let her go. There wasn't anything else that needed saying between them.

* * *

They didn't speak for five days.

It was torture.

He saw her standing around, using her magic to prepare for homes and places to be built, hiding in trees and looking down over everyone, but they didn't talk to each other. She didn't seek him out and he didn't try and talk to her again.

This must have been the effect Audrey had tried to spark between them whenever she ignored him as teens. In hindsight, it had always been a relief instead of a downside when she'd stopped speaking to him. So many warning signs that he'd ignored… so many things he'd tried to overlook.

This electricity with Mal was so different… it was physically hurting him to be away. He felt this tug in his chest that let him know, at all times, what direction and how far he would have to walk or run to reach her. He felt like he was being burned alive as he waited for her. Pining. He'd never experienced that effect before, but he knew what it was now. Just like how he knew now what it was like to be in love with someone.

Five whole days of avoiding each other with careless excuses of 'I have to go do this' and 'I can't talk right now; maybe later.' None of the others had noticed anything, but it wouldn't have mattered if they had. Mal was very adamant about hiding her feelings and herself away from him. She must have thought that if he couldn't see her, he couldn't read her emotions, but that was a fluke of a thought. He knew her. He knew what she was feeling from five miles away as she stewed over them and what they'd done and what they'd been.

And she knew him.

"Ben," Carlos yelled, startling Ben out of his thoughts as he hefted a large beam onto a pile. Ben whipped around and smiled at the white-haired man as he gestured Ben over towards a tent where he, Evie, Uma, and Mal had shielded their documents from view. He pulled off his gloves and walked over. Carlos held the tent flap open as Ben ducked in and then stepped in afterward. Ben glanced around and his smile dropped off his face.

Two reasons. First, Mal was sitting in a corner, sharpening a stick with a knife and looking furious. Second, a man in an official Auradon uniform was standing in front of him. Ben remembered him vaguely as the man who had pushed him out of the way when Mal had stopped their caravan. He put his hands in his pockets and straightened up, examining the red-faced soldier candidly. "What's this?" He asked.

"I sent a letter to your kingdom back when we passed through Arendelle," Evie blinked in surprise. "Did I not tell you? I told them that the King would like to return home around now. They're actually a little earlier than I expected, but you can go home now if you like. I'm sorry if I forgot."

Ben stared at her, and then let his gaze flicker back to the general, who swallowed to compose himself. "Your Majesty," He began, and the words felt unfamiliar to Ben. "On behalf of our squadron, we apologize for your loss on the Cinderellasburg road."

"It's alright," Ben assured him. "I went willingly." He glanced between Jay and Uma.

"We ought to return to the palace now," The guard said in a very stifled tone. "There is an armed squad waiting for you at the road, but it's rather hard to get through the trees, so…" He trailed off uncomfortably. "Your presence is required at the palace as soon as possible."

Ben looked over at Evie and Uma, avoiding Mal's frame entirely. "Will you need me for anything?" He asked softly.

"We can train other people," Uma laughed. "Besides, you must be missing sleeping in a proper bed and wearing your own clothes."

He wasn't.

"And besides," Evie chuckled. "Your wife must miss you." She tried and failed to avoid glancing at Mal.

Audrey wouldn't.

Ben exhaled. "Yeah," He agreed in a hollow tone. "And I need to make you guys official. Draw up land pacts and send crews to help you. We've got to get things going." He glanced at the general. "I, uh, can't leave tonight though. There are things I need to do tonight. If you like, you may all come and help pitch in or you can make camp where you are. I will be staying up here with these fine folk."

"These fine-" The general snorted and cut himself off. "Your Majesty, I hope you'll understand that we won't allow you to continue being held for any ransom."

"I wasn't aware I was being held for ransom," Ben butted in before the man could say anything. "And thank you for your concern. Does this mean you'll be coming up?"

"Your Majesty, we will be removing you from the area immediately," the general explained like he was talking to a small child. "It's time you came back to your position."

"Hmm," Ben snorted. "You know, sir, I think I'm fine here. These people need an extra hand and I have two. And for the record, you would do best to stay in your position as well." He turned away from the man to dismiss him a little and Carlos snorted. Ben rolled his eyes. "I'll finish the things I started this morning and then pack up later tonight. One more night under the stars will be good for me. I'll walk down to meet the squadron tomorrow."

"We appreciate it, Ben," Evie smiled kindly.

"The kids are gonna miss you," Uma frowned. "You'll have to come back and visit."

"You'll miss me too, Uma," Ben teased. "You'll miss making bets on me and ordering me to fetch you things."

Uma shrugged with a tiny, wistful grin. "Hey, ordering the king around is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," She chuckled.

Ben nodded with a laugh and then pulled her forward into a hug. Her hair smelled like seawater and sweat. Uma tensed up and then relaxed into his grip. He laughed at her uncertainty and then, after releasing her, hugged Evie. Evie buried her face into his arm a little and he knew she was going to miss him terribly. Ben then bumped fists with Jay and Carlos, and then they all paused as one and glanced to where Mal was sitting, sharpening her stick into a point that could probably draw blood. He waited for a few heartbeats for a response, but aside from her hair falling forward even more, she didn't move.

Ben turned to his general. "I want you to walk down and invite everyone up to help us work," he told him. "But only those who'd like to. The rest of you selfish folk can sit wherever you're parked and wait for me to be done up here."

"Your majesty, we really have to get you back to the castle," the general protested.

"Yes, and you will. We just won't start today," Ben replied.

"This is foolhardy!" The man exploded. "These people kidnapped you and you are allowing them to continue doing so!"

"Thank you for your opinion," Ben sighed. Across the tent, there was a sudden snap and then a slam. Evie yelped. Ben spun back around to see Mal had snapped the pointy part of her stick off and then driven it straight into the table. She leaned across the table with a gaze that made it feel like he was being shot over and over. He took a hard seat underneath her gaze, sliding down on instinct as she leaned closer to him. "Are you insane?" She snapped. "Or are you just a broken, miserable little fool?"

Her hair had lit aflame, vibrant purple flames licked her beautiful violet locks. Her eyes were turning the light in the room a different color. A candle on the table leaped to life as flames appeared, jumping out of her collar and off her hands. Things started floating. Ben was pinned to his chair by an unforgivable force, and it suddenly became very hard to breathe.

Was this the creature that Maleficent had feared?

Evie, Jay, Carlos, and Uma all cowered, which was something he'd never seen them do before. All of the blood had drained out of the general's face. And ice was creeping over Ben's skin as his brain tried to signal his body to run.

"Don't you ever get mad?" Mal shrieked. "He's the reason you're here! You went through two months of prison and hard labor and eating and sleeping in the forest. We walked twenty miles every day! And he's snapping off at you like he's king! Why aren't you angry?" The sound was ringing in his ears. Outside, all was silent.

"You're the reason I'm here, Mal," Ben managed to force out, though a pressure immediately clamped down on his throat. "It's not his fault."

"Then be mad at me!" Mal demanded, practically spitting flames out as she slammed her hands down on the table. Ben flinched back. The tent seams began to rip as she grew angrier. "Be angry! Scream, shout! Are you even human? How are you so ridiculously calm? Come on, scream back! You can't possibly be so bloody perfect all the time!"

Ben paused. Oh.

He swallowed. "I'll miss you too, Mal," He whispered.

Mal burst into tears. It wasn't even the silent tears that you could wipe away and try to hide. The girl practically collapsed in on herself as she snapped from avenging temptress to despairing angel in the space of a second. All of the flames extinguished themselves in the space of a few seconds. Ben felt the pressure release on his chest as Mal pushed herself around the table and exited the tent, completely inconsolable as she wept for what was probably the first time in her entire life. Evie, who had ended up on the floor, covered her mouth as she tried to catch her breath. Ben slowly stood up and pushed his chair back in. In a corner of the table was the stake Mal had slammed through the four-inch-thick tabletop and imbedded into the wood. He'd never seen anything like that before.

"A sorceress!" The general exclaimed. "She… she's a witch!"

"No," Ben shook his head. "She's just a very powerful young lady." He turned and felt blindly for the opening. "If you'll excuse me," he mumbled. "I'm going to go back to work."


	8. Home

**This was inspired by Xez2003's The Black Arrow; A Tale of Two Kingdoms. I do not own Disney Descendants.**

The sun set on his last day with the Islanders and everyone was devastated to learn he was going. Dozens of people came to shake his hand and thank him for everything and to wish him safe travels. Little kids crowded around his knees to cry and beg him for hugs and kisses and cuddles Ben obliged, feeling sadder, until one-by-one every child was pulled away to bed by parents and overseers.

"I haven't seen Mal still," Evie whispered before she slipped off to bed. "If you see her, can you check on her?"

"I'll go look before I turn in, Ben assured her.

His sixth sense regarding Mal still hadn't slipped away. He followed his heart down into foliage, past several towering trees, and then discovered a tiny little alcove with a waterfall spilling into a little pond with glistening white rocks at the bottom of the water. His skin prickled and became icy with fire as he stepped up to the water's edge and then glanced down. He scuffed his toes against the earth and sighed. "You could still come with me," He invited the waters, somehow knowing she'd hear. "I've been thinking… ever since we got here… I can't go back to live the way I was."

There was a sound like mist to his right and he caught a glimpse of purple reflected in the water.

"I… need to be wanted. Need to be needed. And the person I am - the person I became here - I need to be loved," He looked over all Mal and watched her examining the water with a blank expression. "She doesn't love me. I don't love her. But you…"

Mal brushed her hair away. "And Audrey?" She asked softly.

"Divorces exist," Ben reminded her. "I'll make you a queen if you let me."

"And Belle?" Mal whispered.

"Well, she's still small. Her mom would probably get primary rights. But I'd still have her sometimes." Ben put his hands in her pockets and stared at her. "I can't stop being her dad," He whispered.

"But you can stop being Audrey's husband," Mal pointed out blandly.

"She stopped being my wife years ago."

"You'll rip her whole life apart."

"Hasn't she done that to me?"

"Ben."

Ben dug his toes into the ground and then took a seat on the edge of the pond. He combed his fingers through his hair. "What am I supposed to do, Mal?" He whispered. "Even if I froze her funding and made her spend time with Belle and dismantled her stupid spa, She's never going to be you, Mal."

"But you committed to her," Mal reminded him, taking a seat. "And maybe she can't be me, but I could never, ever be her. All the royal responsibilities and people telling me where I need to be all the time… I can't do that."

Ben slumped his shoulders. He knew she couldn't. And truth be told, he'd rather her be out here with her people, healing from everything her mother had done to her.

"I love you," He admitted out loud, tossing all cares westward. "Do you love me?"

Mal sniffed. "I don't know what love is," she reminded him. "That's all primal lies."

"This is love," Ben annunciated. He reached across the earth and took her hand. "I finally figured it out. I'm not… faking anything anymore. I feel like I'm finally living." Ben got to his knees and, using the tips of his fingers, traced a pattern down her cheek. "I think I've always loved you," he whispered. "Please, please come with me. I'll do anything. I'll divorce Audrey, I'll - I'll-" he took a deep, steadying breath. "It won't be easy, but I swear I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make it worth it."

Mal put a hand on his and shook her head. "I can't leave here, Ben. After everything… Auradon isn't what I want. Please, don't ask me to leave again."

Ben deflated, staring at the ground in disappointment. Mal cupped his cheek. "In another world, we could have made it work," she whispered. "But the way I am… I can't anymore Ben. It's been too long. I've done too much and I've seen too much."

"I left you too long," Ben muttered. "If only I'd thought of the Isle years ago. Instead… I went looking for love in the wrong place."

Mal let out a despairing sort of laugh and her breath ghosted past his cheek. "This is who I really am, Ben. My mother and grandmother and everyone before me was a forest fairy. I'm finally home."

"I know," he whispered.

"You have to be king," Mal whispered. "And I-I have to be Queen of the Isle. I have to protect them."

Ben sniffed and nodded. Mal put both her hands on his cheeks and pulled him close before she stopped. He could smell her breath from where he was hovering, nose no more than a few inches away from hers. "We're not drunk," she whispered. "You're still married."

Ben shook his head. "I just spent two months doing the most good I've ever done because of you and your light trick. God will forgive me if all I want is to be in your arms this last night." He cocked his head at her. "Are you going to leave me again tonight?"

"No," Mal shook her head and combed her fingers through his hair. She trailed her fingertips down his collarbone with a smile. "If there is a god," Mal breathed against his neck, "She's sadistic and cruel and takes pride in making our story end like this."

Ben snorted and leaned in. The only thing separating them was a moment of hesitation before Mal's nimble fingers wrapped around his ears and she moved to wrap her toned legs around his waist. Then her lips fell onto his like they had been destined to be there all along and he lost himself in everything that she was. It was all Mal, Mal, Mal.

* * *

A servant helped him down and wrinkled his nose at the King's appearance. Ben glanced around at the palace. Aside from the longer days, nothing had changed.

"Where's Belle?" He asked softly, going to pull his own collection of Isle items down before any of the servants could dispose of them.

"She's with her nanny," A servant responded. "Would you like me to fetch her?"

"Please," Ben agreed. "Send her up to mine and Audrey's old room, and if you could have a bunch of boxes sent up, that would be lovely. We're going to be decluttering and sending things away."

"Yes, your majesty," The servant made to take his bundle, containing his jacket and clothes and a few things that the children had made him, but Ben held it tighter to his chest.

He was followed inside. He'd forgotten for lurid and expensive it was in here. As he tapped his foot against the carpet, he sighed. "I want this replaced," He announced. "Please find a simple brown, and repaint the walls to be white again. And I'm going to have the windows be made clear to let in more light."

The servants exchanged looks. "Queen Audrey designed this room herself," They announced.

"I know," Ben assured them. "But this is my castle and my family home. I want it changed back." He picked up a gold ornament of no particular value off the table and sighed before passing it off. "That can be the first thing to go," He declared.

He made his way up to the spa room and opened the door softly without knocking. Audrey was lying in a chair with her eyes closed, sighing as someone rubbed her scalp softly. Ben walked to the windows and pulled open the curtains. Audrey's face twisted. "Who's there?" She asked.

"Me," Ben called, frowning around the room as he tried to remember what it had been before.

"Did I know you were coming?" Audrey asked, lifting her hands up for him. He walked over and she took his face before making as if she was going to kiss his cheek. Her eyes were still closed. Her mouth never touched his skin.

"I live here," Ben told her. "And I've been gone, so I figured you would want to see me."

"It has been a while, huh?" Audrey asked, eyes still shut tight. She still hadn't even looked at him. "How long? A week?"

"Thirteen, actually," Ben tried to keep the bitterness out of his tone. "I've been gone for three months."

"Oh!" Audrey sounded surprised. "Oh, I hadn't realized. What a long trip. I've just been in here."

"Is your back still hurting?" Ben asked.

"It is," Audrey frowned, shifting uncomfortably. "I can't figure out what's wrong with it though."

"I think you need more fresh air," Ben declared, going to fling the window open. A brisk breeze of cool air flew in from outside. Audrey yelped. She opened her eyes and sat up. Ben didn't give her time to protest. "Belle and I are going to be in our room. You can come up if you want. And tomorrow we're going to be in her room. She's getting older and I want to fix her room up."

"That sounds like a good idea," Audrey nodded, rubbing her back. "She's almost three now, right?"

"Six," Ben replied flatly.

"I was close," Audrey shrugged. She examined Ben a little closer. "You look different," She commented. "Have you been working out?"

"Sort of," Ben shrugged. "I think you should join me. We can try some things to help strengthen your back again. Like when you did cheer." Audrey made a noncommittal sound. "I'm going to be redecorating our bedroom," he told her. "So don't freak out when we have crews coming through. I'll put your favorite things aside for you to keep."

Audrey frowned. "What kind of redecorating?" She asked.

"Simple things," Ben promised, leaning down to kiss her forehead. He meant, of course, simple as in the decorating style. Not in the changes he'd be making. The action, however, distracted Audrey.

"You didn't ask permission," She accused, brushing the skin where he'd touched her.

"Neither did you when you took my face earlier," Ben replied. He exhaled and patted her hand. His ring was back on his hand, digging into his skin a little bit more. Maybe he'd put in an order for a different one and let Audrey keep this one as a memento. "One more thing, Audrey," He said as he started to walk towards the door. "Our High School reunion is in a few months. They're holding it at the school and there's going to be games and things. You'll need a pair of tennis shoes. Do you want white or pink?"

"You can't go," Audrey frowned. "What if there are other girls there?"

Ben crossed his arms and leaned against the door. "Then you'll trust me and I'll trust you," He suggested, though a pool of guilt twisted his stomach. "Now, Belle is waiting for me. I'm going to be letting her nanny go and you and I are going to raise her. If you want to talk to me about it, you'll have to come out of the spa."

He reached for the handle, pausing to see if Audrey would protest. She didn't, but she did look absolutely baffled as she sat back down. She hadn't thought about anything else in a while, so Ben figured it'd take a minute for everything to sink in.

Ben twisted the knob to his room for the first time in almost seven years and stepped inside to commotion. The poor nanny had marks up and down her arms and looked frazzled as Little Belle twisted on the ground, screaming. "I don't wanna!" She hollered. "I don't wanna!" Large boxes piled around her.

Ben put a hand on the woman's arm. "Thank you for everything you've done," He whispered. "I'll take it from here. She won't be allowed to behave like this anymore. I'll send you a bonus in the mail and write you a letter of recommendation if you like."

The nanny wasted no time in leaving. Ben knelt down beside Belle and put a hand on her back. "Belle," He called, using the stern tone he'd finally learned how to use with Mal. The girl quit beating her fists into the carpet and looked up at him with red eyes.

"Daddy, Mrs. Marks was being mean!" She complained. "I want a new nanny."

"No, Belle, you were being bad. Dad told her to bring you up here, and you hurt her, and I'm angry with you," He frowned at the child, but she wasn't much fazed by the show. "From now on, Mom and Dad are going to be in charge of you. And if I see you throwing a fit like this, I'll make you sit on a chair in a corner all by yourself for a whole day." He crossed his arms and pinched his lips at her. Belle snarled at him, sat cross-legged on the carpet, and pouted. He only rolled his eyes.

"Dad hates this room," he told her, gesturing around to the vibrant reds and gaudy pinks. "We're going to rip everything out and you're going to help me. If you're good, then I'll give you some candy afterward. If you're bad, I'll make you sit on a chair until you want to be good. If you break anything on purpose, Dad's gonna find something to break in your room. Do you understand me?"

Belle pouted, but then slowly got up and walked over to a collection of sequined pillows on Audrey's couch. "These?" She asked.

"Those," Ben let his face soften into a smile to cheer her up a little. "And then tomorrow we're going to do your room too and make it look like a big girl's room." Belle wiped the last of her tears away and then picked up a pillow and carried it over to a box, swaying as she did. She dropped it in with a little poof, and then looked up to see his reaction.

"I bet I can do more than you," He challenged, and Belle scrambled back to the couch. He let her gather as many pillows as she could into her tiny arms before walking over and scooping her up with a little growl. He dumped her into the box playfully on top of the last pillow as she squealed.

"Daddy, I'm not a pillow!" She protested.

"You aren't? But you're squishy and soft like one!" He picked her up, spinning her around with a smile, and she put her arms around his head, squealing as she grabbed the back of his shirt.

Eventually, they slowed down, and then Belle poked at something on his collarbone. "What's this?" She asked.

Ben looked down. It was a bruise. A dark purple bruise a little smaller than a golf ball right underneath his collarbone. His mind blanked out. What to tell her? What to say?

Someone gave that to Daddy, Princess. Daddy let someone do that. Daddy loves another lady, sweetheart.

Ben smiled and kissed her cheek. "That happened to Dad on his trip," He explained. "It'll go away in a few days, and then it'll all be over."

"What'd you do?" Belle asked, poking at it a little. Ben let her, even though it stung a little.

"Well, Dad went far away, and he met-" He paused for dramatic effect. "A dragon. And this dragon was fluffy and sweet and very, very sad, and so now our family has a dragon for a friend." He tapped the bruises. "But this was something the dragon gave Dad by accident. She said that she was very sorry."

"Okay," Belle nodded, accepting the story. Then, after a moment of contemplation, she leaned forward and kissed it awkwardly. "Nanny Boe always kissed my boo-boos," she explained, and then hugged her arms around his neck again. "I'm sorry the dragon hurt you."

Mal had hurt him. Probably not as much as he'd hurt her, but he still ached for her presence. His mental compass was firmly attuned to her. Just like the needle on the water, they'd all been so amazed by, part of his soul still pointed out west towards where he'd left her behind. They'd laid their whatever-they-had to rest, but he still missed her all the same.

Ben smiled and cuddled the little girl close. Nothing was going to be the same again, but everything would be okay.

Hard, but okay.

His dragon had taught him how to be happy again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, Love is letting people complete responsibility.


End file.
